Nvidia Invests $1.5 Billion in SB Energy, Securing Role in OpenAI's Ohio Data Center

Nvidia has solidified its position in the artificial intelligence infrastructure landscape with a significant $1.5 billion investment in SB Energy, a data center developer backed by SoftBank and OpenAI. This strategic move designates Nvidia as the exclusive provider of computing infrastructure for a major new OpenAI facility being constructed in Ohio.

The investment ensures that Nvidia's cutting-edge chips will power OpenAI's Ports-Pike data center, located near Cincinnati. Beyond the direct investment, Nvidia is extending substantial financial support by offering up to $105 billion in credit to aid in the facility's construction. Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that the data center is designed to scale from an initial 4.25 gigawatts to potentially 8 gigawatts.

SB Energy's existing investor base includes prominent technology firms SoftBank and OpenAI. To support the massive energy demands of the facility, SB Energy plans to construct a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant on the site. This plant, situated on land previously used by the U.S. Department of Energy for uranium enrichment, is projected to cost $33 billion, a figure reflecting a 66% increase in natural gas power plant construction costs over the last two years.

This latest commitment from Nvidia underscores its deepening integration across the AI infrastructure stack. The company has previously invested capital and provided credit to other AI data center operators such as CoreWeave, Nebius, and Lambda. The expanded financial relationship between Nvidia, SoftBank, and OpenAI highlights their central roles in the rapidly accelerating global buildout of AI computing capacity.