Nvidia cuts its guarantee for OpenAI's Ohio data center

Nvidia is scaling back the financial guarantee it is expected to provide for a proposed OpenAI data center in Ohio, according to Reuters, citing a Wall Street Journal report. The chipmaker is now expected to initially guarantee less than 120B USD, down from a previously discussed 250B USD commitment.

The revised structure would make Nvidia a backstop for only the first phase of the project while OpenAI continues talks over a binding lease for the full 10-gigawatt site. Reuters says the site is being developed by SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary, and would be the largest announced data center project if completed.

The change matters because Nvidia is already trying to pull Wall Street capital into AI infrastructure through separate financing platforms with major investment firms. A smaller OpenAI guarantee suggests investors are watching how much balance-sheet risk Nvidia takes on while the AI buildout moves from chips into power, land, leases and long-term financing.

OpenAI declined to comment to Reuters. Nvidia did not immediately respond outside regular business hours.