• Nvidia is reportedly considering a US$250 billion guarantee to support financing for OpenAI’s planned Ohio data-centre lease

• SB Energy is targeting about 800MW in the first phase of the proposed 10GW campus by 2028


The fact

Nvidia is reportedly in talks to guarantee about US$250 billion to support OpenAI’s proposed lease of a data-centre development in southern Ohio. SB Energy, SoftBank’s energy subsidiary, is developing the planned 10GW campus at the federal Portsmouth Site in Pike County. Reuters said it could not independently verify The Wall Street Journal report.

The guarantee would support OpenAI’s lease and debt used to fund construction. However, it would not cover the Nvidia chips planned for the site. Nvidia is also reportedly discussing a separate arrangement to finance up to US$350 billion of OpenAI chip purchases. Both proposals remain under negotiation.

The first phase is expected to deliver about 800MW by 2028. The US government has separately outlined 10GW of generation and transmission infrastructure for the wider development, including 9.2GW of natural-gas capacity to be operated by SB Energy.

The assessment

Nvidia’s proposed guarantee could change how lenders assess the obligations tied to OpenAI’s lease. If agreed, it would add Nvidia’s support to the payments covered by the guarantee when SB Energy seeks construction debt, rather than leaving lenders exposed only to OpenAI’s lease commitment.

The commercial effect will depend on the final terms. The report does not say which payments Nvidia would cover, how long the guarantee would remain in force or what event would trigger it. SB Energy would still need to secure the debt, and OpenAI would still need to enter the lease before the structure could support construction. For BTW readers, the guarantee could help SB Energy secure construction financing for the first 800MW phase, but it would not make that capacity deliverable on its own.

What to watch

Watch for confirmation that Nvidia has agreed to the guarantee and details of what it would cover. Any completed financing for the first 800MW phase would show whether the guarantee is actually being used to support construction.