Nvidia is in talks with OpenAI to provide a $250 billion financing guarantee for a large data‑center development, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Reuters.
Project scope and financing
- The overall project is expected to cost more than $500 billion, a figure that includes the chips that would run inside the data centers.
- The $250 billion guarantee being discussed would cover data‑center leases and debt financing, but would not extend to the chips themselves.
- Separately, Nvidia is also negotiating to finance up to $350 billion of OpenAI’s chip purchases, according to the report.
Timeline and capacity
The first phase of the project is planned to be completed by 2028 and is expected to provide roughly 800 megawatts of capacity.
Energy control and international financing
The report says the U.S. government will have authority over the energy supply. Financing is being arranged in part under a recent trade agreement with Japan: Tokyo pledged $33 billion toward a gas‑fired power plant that would be part of the energy infrastructure supporting the project.
Howard Lutnick, identified in the report as the U.S. commerce secretary, will have a role in decisions about access. Reuters also noted that OpenAI has been negotiating site leases for several weeks, and that other companies—including Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google—have met with Howard Lutnick in recent weeks about the project.
Why this matters
- For OpenAI, building or securing its own large‑scale data‑center footprint would mark a shift away from reliance on third‑party cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle.
- For Nvidia, backing the project would lock in multiyear demand for its AI chips.
The story is based on reporting by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters. The lead image used in the original report was illustrative.
This article is not investment advice or a recommendation.
