OpenAI signs 20-year 10GW Ohio data center lease with SoftBank SB Energy; Nvidia takes $1.5B equity and $105B asset backstop
OpenAI and SoftBank-owned SB Energy signed a 20-year, 10-gigawatt Ohio data center lease on August 17. Nvidia agreed to invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy for equity and provide up to $105 billion in asset-value backstop for the first 5-gigawatt phase.
On August 17, OpenAI signed a 20-year, 10-gigawatt data center lease in Ohio with SoftBank-owned SB Energy, with Nvidia committing to support SB Energy in raising debt financing while taking a $1.5 billion equity stake. The deal is the latest in a string of complex transactions in which chipmakers are using their balance sheets to help AI companies secure enormous compute resources.
As part of the arrangement, Nvidia will backstop part of the asset value of the completed data center, starting with the first-phase 5-gigawatt power capacity. Nvidia becomes the exclusive chip supplier for the front half of the Ohio campus and holds an option to extend the backstop to the full 10-gigawatt site.
If the first phase is fully built, Nvidia's downside is capped at $105 billion. By guaranteeing asset value rather than OpenAI's rental stream, the structure sharply limits Nvidia's exposure, and the backstop covers only completed facilities, not those still under construction. SB Energy is working with banks on an IPO that could come as soon as next month. OpenAI, SB Energy and Nvidia recently scaled back the size of Nvidia's backstop in response to investor concerns about its exposure.