Nvidia has revised its plans to support the proposed OpenAI data center project in Ohio and is now expected to initially guarantee less than $120 billion, down from the roughly $250 billion previously discussed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the Journal, Nvidia and OpenAI are nearing an agreement, with the chipmaker expected to provide a financial backstop only for the first phase of the project. A deal could be signed as early as this weekend, the report said.
The change came after investors raised concerns about Nvidia's risk exposure tied to large financing commitments, the newspaper said. It follows Nvidia's move on Monday, when the company partnered with six major financial institutions to launch compute financing platforms aimed at raising over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.
OpenAI is still discussing a binding lease for the full 10-gigawatt project in Ohio, according to the WSJ. The site is being developed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank, and would be the largest data center project announced to date if completed.
CryptoBriefing, which also covered the report, notes that the revised backstop is designed to cover lease payments and construction-related debt on the 10-gigawatt facility in the Pike County area of Ohio, but does not cover the cost of Nvidia's actual chips, which could require a separate financing arrangement potentially worth up to $350 billion. The terms have not been publicly confirmed as of mid-August 2026 and negotiations remain ongoing, the outlet added.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours, Reuters reported.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance (Reuters) — "Nvidia scales back funding guarantee for Ohio OpenAI data center, WSJ reports": https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/nvidia-scales-back-250-billion-234356524.html
- CryptoBriefing — "Nvidia scales back financial guarantee to under $120B for OpenAI data center project": https://cryptobriefing.com/nvidia-reduces-guarantee-openai-data-center/
