Nvidia scales back funding guarantee for Ohio OpenAI data center, WSJ reports

Aug 14 (Reuters) – Nvidia has revised its plans to support a proposed OpenAI data center project in Ohio and is now expected to initially guarantee less than $120 billion, down from the $250 billion previously discussed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

• The Journal said Nvidia and OpenAI are nearing an agreement, with the chipmaker expected to provide a financial backstop only for the first phase of the project. A deal could be signed as early as this weekend, according to the report.

• The change was made after investors raised concerns about Nvidia’s risk exposure tied to large financing commitments, the newspaper said.

• This came after Nvidia on Monday partnered with ​six major financial institutions to launch compute financing platforms aimed ‌at raising over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.

• OpenAI is still discussing a binding lease for the full 10-gigawatt project in Ohio, WSJ said. The site is being developed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank, and would be the largest data center project announced to date if completed.

• Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. OpenAI declined to comment.

• The project would help OpenAI move toward owning AI infrastructure, although its ability to fund large-scale commitments remains under scrutiny because the company is unprofitable despite a valuation of $852 billion.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Tom Hogue)