OpenAI weighs leasing Ohio data center with Nvidia backing, The Information reports

June 9 (Reuters) – OpenAI is in talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, in a deal that could include financial backing from Nvidia, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Here are some details:

• The campus could cost at least $500 billion to build, based on current prices for chips, labour, power and other inputs, the report said.

• OpenAI would control the equipment at the facility under a 20-year lease, with payments starting once operations begin; the first phase is expected in 2028, the report added.

• The facility, among the largest of its kind, would be developed by SB Energy, a unit of SoftBank, on Department of Energy land in southern Ohio.

• Nvidia is expected to supply hardware in the facility and provide a financial guarantee for OpenAI’s lease and SB Energy’s financing, according to the report.

• Reuters could not immediately verify the report. OpenAI and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment outside regular business hours.

• Earlier this year, the ChatGPT maker paused its proposed ‘Stargate’ data centre project in the UK, citing regulatory hurdles and high energy costs.

• Separately, Apollo and Blackstone are financing a $35 billion AI capacity expansion for Anthropic using Broadcom chips, Reuters reported this week.

(Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Eileen Soreng)