Nvidia is in talks to provide roughly $250 billion in financing guarantees for OpenAI, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. The backstop would let OpenAI lease a 10-gigawatt campus in southern Ohio that SoftBank’s energy subsidiary is developing.
The reason such a guarantee is needed is straightforward: OpenAI does not have an investment-grade credit rating. Nvidia’s balance sheet would effectively stand in for one, letting lenders price the debt against the chipmaker’s credit rather than the borrower’s.
What the money covers
The $250 billion figure applies to the data centre lease and construction debt, not to the Nvidia chips that will fill the building. Those are the subject of a separate discussion, with the Journal reporting chip purchase financing that could reach a further $350 billion.
The whole project is expected to cost more than $500 billion including silicon. Its first phase, around 800 megawatts, is due for completion in 2028.
