Nvidia Guarantee Backs OpenAI Ohio Campus Financing
Data Center Knowledge reported that Nvidia disclosed up to $105 billion in residual-value guarantees for OpenAI’s planned Ohio data centre campus, separate from a $1.5 billion SB Energy investment.
Nvidia’s role in OpenAI’s planned Ohio data centre campus now extends from GPU supplier to credit supporter, Data Center Knowledge reported, after an August 17 SEC filing disclosed as much as $105 billion in residual-value guarantees tied to the project.
The first guarantee package applies to a 4.25 GW starting phase at SB Energy’s Pike County, Ohio site.
An additional Nvidia option covers 3.75 GW, enough to lift the OpenAI lease campus toward 8 GW over the 20-year term.
The structure is not a $105 billion cash investment in the campus.
The filing caps Nvidia’s aggregate payment obligation for the initial guarantees at that amount, but the exposure is tied to the residual value of leased infrastructure after specified default or insolvency events.
If SB Energy cannot recover the guaranteed minimum value through re-leasing or selling the facilities, Nvidia may have to cover the shortfall.
OpenAI would repay and indemnify Nvidia for any guarantee payments the chipmaker actually has to make.
A separate $1.5 billion Nvidia investment in SB Energy does not count toward the residual-value guarantee, although both commitments attach to the initial 4.25 GW phase.
That financing mechanism turns data centre hardware and facilities into a balance-sheet issue for AI infrastructure buyers and suppliers.
Nvidia’s support helps SB Energy underwrite long-lived capacity for OpenAI, while Nvidia secures a deeper commercial position in the compute estate that will house its chips.
Land, power and shell capacity at the site are already secured for Nvidia, which is also set to be the exclusive AI compute infrastructure provider.
The guarantee terms remain incomplete in the public record.
Nvidia said the actual guarantee agreements will be filed as exhibits with its quarterly report for the period ended July 26, leaving the guaranteed minimum values and detailed triggers for later review.
Beyond the leased campus, SB Energy and SoftBank plan at least 10 GW of new energy generation for the project.
The public filing does not yet show how that supply will be contracted or staged alongside the first phase's 4.25 GW of IT capacity and optional expansion toward 8 GW.
The arrangement combines Nvidia hardware, OpenAI’s long-term compute demand and SB Energy’s ownership of the physical campus.
A residual-value guarantee can support financing only to the extent that lenders accept the AI factory lease as a recoverable asset after default or insolvency.
The next filing will determine how much of the headline guarantee converts into usable project finance, and how much remains a conditional backstop behind OpenAI’s leased infrastructure.
