Announcement

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has lowered its planned financial guarantee for OpenAI’s proposed data‑center project in Ohio to less than $120 billion, a reduction from the $250 billion figure previously discussed, according to a Wall Street Journal report released on Friday.

Deal Structure and Timeline

The chipmaker and OpenAI are reportedly close to finalising an agreement that would limit Nvidia’s financial backstop to the first phase of the project, with a binding deal expected as early as the upcoming weekend.

Investor Concerns Prompt Revision

The revision follows concerns raised by investors about Nvidia’s exposure to the risks inherent in large‑scale financing commitments. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours, and OpenAI declined to comment.

Project Scope and Ownership

The proposed facility is a 10‑gigawatt data centre being developed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group (TYO:9984). If fully realised, it would become the largest data‑center project ever announced. OpenAI remains in negotiations for a binding lease covering the entire site, indicating that its broader ambitions for the location have not been abandoned despite the scaled‑down guarantee.

Strategic Rationale

The data centre is intended to give OpenAI greater control over the infrastructure required to train and operate its artificial‑intelligence models. OpenAI, valued at $852 billion, is still unprofitable.

Related Financing Initiatives

Nvidia’s adjusted commitment follows its Monday announcement of partnerships with six large financial institutions to create compute‑financing platforms. The initiative aims to mobilise more than $500 billion of third‑party capital for AI‑infrastructure projects, enabling external investors to fund data‑centres and computing equipment.

Market Implications

The Ohio negotiations illustrate the increasing use of complex financing structures to support AI‑infrastructure spending, while also highlighting investor apprehension about the financial exposure being assumed by chipmakers, technology firms and project developers.