- NVIDIA would back financing for both the construction debt and the lease
- Its own chips are excluded, though a separate chip-purchase deal could reach $350 billion
- The power project stems from the 2025 U.S.-Japan trade deal
NVIDIA is negotiating a guarantee of roughly $250 billion that would let OpenAI lease a data center campus rising on federal land in southern Ohio, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
The electricity feeding that campus belongs to the U.S. government. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is helping determine which company receives it, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. Terms remain unsettled and the arrangement could still collapse.
What Would NVIDIA’s $250B Guarantee Cover for the Ohio Data Center?
The chipmaker would stand behind a set of financing vehicles meant to give lenders confidence in the money supporting the project. Construction debt and the lease itself would both fall under the guarantee. OpenAI has yet to turn a profit and remains privately held, leaving it without an investment-grade credit rating. NVIDIA’s involvement would let the data center developer borrow on stronger terms than OpenAI’s standing alone would support. That developer is SoftBank’s energy arm, SB Energy.
NVIDIA’s chips are excluded. It is separately discussing financing for OpenAI’s chip purchase, an arrangement that could reach $350 billion. The chipmaker has already invested $30 billion in OpenAI.
How Is the Federal Government Involved in the Ohio Data Center Project?
The campus occupies a decommissioned uranium enrichment site about 50 miles south of Columbus. SB Energy will operate the power plant under a fee paid by the U.S. government. Proceeds from power sales go to both governments until Japan recovers its investment. The American share climbs to 90 percent after that point.
Which AI Companies Are Competing for the Ohio Site?
OpenAI has spent several weeks in advanced discussions over the lease and ranks among the most interested parties, the Journal reported. Anthropic, Microsoft and Google have each approached Lutnick about the site recently.
Demand at the campus would run to roughly 10 gigawatts. The first phase is expected to deliver about 800 megawatts in 2028. Total cost could exceed $500 billion.
How Does the Ohio Project Tie to the US-Japan Trade Agreement?
Japan committed to funding a natural gas power project on federal land in Ohio in exchange for lower U.S. tariffs. The commitment sits within the broader set of Japanese investments negotiated under the 2025 U.S.-Japan Strategic Trade and Investment Agreement.
