Nvidia to invest $1.5B in SoftBank-linked data center developer for OpenAI project

Nvidia said Monday that it will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a data center developer linked to SoftBank and OpenAI. The investment ensures Nvidia will be the sole supplier of compute infrastructure at OpenAI’s Ports-Pike data center near Cincinnati, Ohio. Nvidia will also provide up to $105 billion in credit to help build the facility, which could scale from an initial 4.25 gigawatts to 8 gigawatts, according to documents the company filed with the SEC.

SB Energy’s existing investors include SoftBank and OpenAI. SoftBank had previously held $5.8 billion worth of Nvidia stock, which it sold in November to help fund other AI investments.

The data center and power developer will build a 9.2-gigawatt natural gas power plant on the site, which is land owned by the U.S. Department of Energy. The site previously enriched uranium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal and for U.S. Navy submarines.

The power plant is expected to cost $33 billion. The steep sum reflects the skyrocketing cost of building natural gas power plants, which have risen 66% over the last two years, according to BloombergNEF. By the time SB Energy’s power plant and others like it are completed, they’ll be competing for natural gas with export markets — a confluence that could triple natural gas prices in some parts of the country.

Why it matters

The deal ties Nvidia’s balance sheet directly to the physical build-out of one of OpenAI’s largest compute sites, while the natural-gas demand it creates could push up energy costs well beyond the AI industry itself.