Nvidia has reduced its financial backing for a massive OpenAI data center project in Ohio to less than $120 billion, down from an originally planned $250 billion, after the two companies restructured the financing arrangement. The chipmaker will guarantee only the first phase of the project, covering approximately 5 gigawatts of power capacity, with decisions on remaining phases deferred, and the parties could sign the agreement as early as this weekend.
The revised deal comes after Nvidia announced partnerships with Apollo Global Management, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs and KKR to mobilize over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure. Under those broader arrangements, Nvidia has agreed to cover up to 25 percent of any decline in the value of its chips used as collateral. The company has also been working on an additional $750 billion in circular financing deals this summer.
OpenAI continues negotiations with SB Energy for a binding lease covering the full 10-gigawatt facility, with Goldman Sachs advising SB Energy and Morgan Stanley advising Nvidia. Analysts see Nvidia's aggressive financing strategy as increasing pressure on Alphabet, which has been positioning its custom tensor processing units as alternatives to Nvidia hardware.