Nvidia will guarantee up to $105 billion in financing for OpenAI's Ohio data center and invest $1.5 billion in the SoftBank unit developing it, in exchange for exclusive use of Nvidia chips.
Nvidia expects the first phase (4.25 GW) alone to generate about $200 billion in chip sales.
The deal carries risk, however: OpenAI is committed to roughly $750 billion in obligations over the next four years while losing money rapidly, and if the company defaults, Nvidia would have to cover unpaid costs at a time when its largest customer might reduce orders.
What happened
Nvidia announced it will guarantee up to $105 billion in financing for OpenAI's Ohio data center campus and invest $1.5 billion into SB Energy, the SoftBank unit building the site. In return, OpenAI committed to using Nvidia chips exclusively onsite. The 8-gigawatt facility will be built in phases: roughly 0.8 GW in 2028, growing to 4.25 GW, then the full 8 GW.
Why it matters
Nvidia expects the first 4.25 GW alone to bring in about $200 billion in chip sales. However, OpenAI faces obligations of something like $750 billion over the next 4 years while losing money at a fast pace. If OpenAI cannot pay, Nvidia would be forced to cover unpaid lease and power costs at the exact moment its biggest customer's orders might dry up—a significant risk given that most of Nvidia's top customers are directly or indirectly reliant on OpenAI.
What to watch
The $105 billion is a guarantee, not a direct investment upfront; Nvidia owes nothing unless OpenAI defaults. The announcement follows Nvidia's recent deal to team up with BlackRock, Apollo, Blackstone, and others to raise more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure, with Nvidia offering to backstop up to $125 billion of that.
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Nvidia's guarantee structure reflects the company's dominant position in AI chip supply and its tight financial entanglement with OpenAI. The arrangement is financially attractive on paper: if OpenAI meets its obligations, Nvidia books roughly $200 billion in chip sales from the first 4.25 GW phase alone and never pays a cent of the guarantee. However, the deal exposes a structural vulnerability in the AI infrastructure ecosystem. OpenAI's financial picture is precarious—the company is committed to approximately $750 billion in obligations over the next four years despite growing sales because it is simultaneously losing money at a rapid pace. The article does not identify a clear path for OpenAI to meet these commitments, raising the possibility that Nvidia could be forced to write a massive check precisely when its largest customer is in distress and least likely to place new orders. This creates a compounding risk: Nvidia's revenue base is heavily concentrated in a small number of customers, most of which depend directly or indirectly on OpenAI, so a crisis at OpenAI could ripple across Nvidia's top line at the same moment the company is liable for hundreds of billions in data center costs.
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