Nvidia Commits Up to $3 Billion to OpenAI's Ohio Data Center Development

Nvidia is making a significant investment in the future of artificial intelligence by committing up to $3 billion to support OpenAI’s Ohio AI campus, which is set to become one of the largest AI computing facilities ever constructed.

The investment will be directed towards SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank that is developing the massive data center campus in Pike County, Ohio. The funding will be disbursed in two parts: $1.5 billion upon signing the agreement and another $1.5 billion contingent on SB Energy’s planned IPO.

The Ohio campus aims to achieve a remarkable 10 gigawatts of power capacity, with the first phase expected to go live around 2028. This ambitious project is part of a broader financing strategy that could exceed $500 billion, including substantial investments in power generation and infrastructure.

Nvidia's investment also includes a financial guarantee for OpenAI’s leasing capacity at the facility, which has been revised from an initial $250 billion to under $120 billion, focusing on OpenAI's operational needs.

SB Energy will operate the site under a 20-year lease with OpenAI, with the capacity rolling online in phases starting in 2028. The project is anticipated to create around 35,000 construction jobs and 2,500 permanent positions, transforming southeastern Ohio into a hub for AI development.

This strategic move allows Nvidia to secure a long-term customer relationship with OpenAI while also ensuring demand for its products, effectively integrating its hardware offerings with energy and infrastructure development.

Nvidia-Linked AI Deal Boosts HIVE Stock

HIVE Digital Technologies has entered a five-year agreement worth approximately $350 million with an unnamed investment-grade enterprise customer for GPU cloud services. This deal involves deploying 2,016 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra GPUs at the Bell AI Fabric facility in Merritt, British Columbia, and is expected to generate around $70 million in annual recurring revenue.

The contract includes an upfront deposit of about $35 million, which is roughly 10% of the total value. HIVE anticipates that the capital expenditure for this deployment will be around $185 million, allowing the company to retain ownership of the infrastructure after the contract ends.

The facility is set to be operational by Q4 2026 and will be powered entirely by renewable hydroelectric energy, utilizing closed-loop liquid cooling technology.

This contract follows a previous $220 million agreement HIVE secured with Bell Canada and Cohere, an AI startup competing with OpenAI, further solidifying HIVE's position in the AI cloud services market.