Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project

Nvidia has announced a massive 1.5 billion dollar investment in SB Energy, a data center developer tied to both SoftBank and OpenAI. This strategic move secures Nvidia’s position as the exclusive provider of compute infrastructure for the upcoming Ports Pike data center located near Cincinnati, Ohio. Beyond the direct cash injection, Nvidia is providing up to 105 billion dollars in credit to support the construction of a facility designed to scale from an initial 4.25 gigawatts up to 8 gigawatts.

The project carries significant historical weight as it will be built on land formerly owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, where uranium was once enriched for the American nuclear arsenal and Navy submarines. To power this artificial intelligence hub, SB Energy plans to construct a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant on site. The estimated cost for this energy facility alone is roughly 33 billion dollars, reflecting a sharp rise in construction expenses that have jumped over sixty percent in just two years.

This partnership comes at a complex financial moment for the involved parties, particularly following SoftBank’s decision last November to sell nearly six billion dollars worth of Nvidia stock to diversify its own AI portfolio. However, analysts warn that such ambitious projects may face headwinds as they come online. With several similar facilities vying for resources, there are concerns that competition between domestic data centers and export markets could cause local natural gas prices to triple across certain regions of the country.