Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a data center developer backing OpenAI's planned Ports-Pike facility near Cincinnati, Ohio, and will provide up to $105 billion in credit to help build the complex.
Nvidia secures the role of sole compute supplier, while the project underscores the massive infrastructure costs driving AI expansion—the accompanying 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant is expected to cost $33 billion, reflecting a 66% surge in construction costs over two years.
What happened
Nvidia announced a $1.5 billion investment in SB Energy, a data center developer backed by SoftBank and OpenAI, and will provide up to $105 billion in credit to build a facility near Cincinnati, Ohio. Nvidia will be the sole compute supplier at OpenAI's Ports-Pike data center, which could grow from 4.25 gigawatts to 8 gigawatts in capacity.
Why it matters
The deal locks Nvidia into a major infrastructure role for OpenAI's operations and secures long-term hardware revenue. SB Energy will construct a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant on the site—a costly undertaking that reflects the 66% rise in natural gas power plant construction costs over the last two years. The plant and others like it may compete for natural gas with export markets, which could triple natural gas prices in some parts of the country.
What to watch
The power plant is expected to cost $33 billion. The site, located on U.S. Department of Energy land that once enriched uranium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal and Navy submarines, represents a major infrastructure transition. SoftBank, an existing investor in SB Energy, previously held $5.8 billion worth of Nvidia stock but sold it in November to fund other AI investments.
Ask the AI about this article →
Nvidia's $1.5 billion investment in SB Energy represents both a strategic infrastructure play and a window into the staggering capital requirements underpinning AI's scaling. The deal grants Nvidia exclusivity as the compute supplier for OpenAI's Ports-Pike facility, tying together two of the industry's central players: OpenAI, which develops the AI models driving demand, and Nvidia, which manufactures the hardware they run on. The accompanying $105 billion credit facility signals Nvidia's deep commitment to ensuring power and compute are available at the scale OpenAI's ambitions require.
The 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant budgeted at $33 billion reflects the inflationary pressure on energy infrastructure. BloombergNEF data cited in the filing shows natural gas power plant construction costs have risen 66% in the last two years—a metric that underscores how expensive it has become to build the physical foundation for large-scale AI. The fact that SoftBank, an existing investor in SB Energy, previously sold $5.8 billion worth of Nvidia stock in November to fund other AI investments illustrates the broader scramble among tech and telecom conglomerates to finance AI infrastructure projects. The potential tripling of natural gas prices in some parts of the country as these power plants compete with export markets suggests that the infrastructure bet carries economy-wide spillover costs.
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