Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion in SB Energy while becoming the exclusive AI compute infrastructure provider for the massive PORTS-Pike Technology Campus being developed in Pike County, Ohio for OpenAI. Under the agreement, Nvidia will provide credit support for the land, power and shell buildout required to secure an initial 4.25 IT-GW of capacity.
Nvidia will also have an option covering the remaining 3.75 IT-GW, potentially bringing the campus to 8 IT-GW of AI factory capacity.
OpenAI will be the customer for the site’s full planned 8 IT-GW.
SB Energy will build, own and operate the data center campus under a 20-year lease with OpenAI.
The AI factories will use Nvidia’s full-stack DSX architecture spanning GPUs, CPUs, networking, software and supporting infrastructure. The design is intended to reduce infrastructure overhead and improve the speed at which new computing capacity can be brought online.
The project is being developed at and around the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, effectively transforming a legacy industrial site into one of the country’s largest planned AI infrastructure campuses.
Capacity is expected to begin coming online in phases starting in 2028.
SB Energy and SoftBank plan to build at least 10 GW of new electricity generation to support the 8 IT-GW of computing capacity.
They also plan to invest at least $4.2 billion in regional grid infrastructure through a partnership with AEP Ohio structured to protect existing electricity ratepayers.
The project is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs.
OpenAI is also adding $40 million to SB Energy’s previously announced $40 million community benefits fund, bringing the initial pool to $80 million for initiatives including affordable energy, workforce development, local business opportunities and economic development.
Nvidia’s $1.5 billion investment makes it an SB Energy investor alongside SoftBank Group and OpenAI.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan advised SB Energy, while Morgan Stanley advised Nvidia.
KEY QUOTES:
“AI is becoming infrastructure, the foundation for intelligence in every industry, and land, power and shell have become vital in the age of AI. Now is the time to scale the AI infrastructure that will power the next industrial revolution.”
“We are securing long-lived infrastructure for NVIDIA compute so OpenAI can deploy the most productive AI factories that can be upgraded repeatedly with each new generation delivering more intelligence and better economics.”
Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of Nvidia
“Infrastructure is vital for the AI economy. With SoftBank Group, OpenAI and NVIDIA, SB Energy is building power-first infrastructure at unprecedented scale while strengthening the communities that make it possible, protecting ratepayers, creating tens of thousands of well-paying jobs, and investing in infrastructure to revitalize Southern Ohio that has long shaped America’s future.”
Rich Hossfeld, Co-CEO of SB Energy
“This is going to be a huge site, with enough computing power to help millions of people use AI to do things we can only start to imagine today, from finding new medicines to starting businesses and solving hard problems.”
“We’re proud to build it in Pike County, a place that is once again at the heart of American industry and leading the future. We want the people who live here to feel the benefits too, through good jobs, more opportunity for local businesses, and investment in the community for years to come.”
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
“The next era of intelligence will transform every industry, and require infrastructure built at unprecedented speed and scale. Together with our partners, SoftBank will help unlock the power of AGI and move humanity forward.”
Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group
