Nvidia to Invest $1.5B in SoftBank Data Center Developer Tied to OpenAI
Original: Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project
Why This Matters
The deal signals deepening vertical integration between AI compute suppliers and large-scale energy infrastructure.
Nvidia announced a $1.5 billion investment in SB Energy, a data center developer backed by SoftBank and OpenAI, securing its role as sole compute infrastructure supplier for the Ports-Pike data center near Cincinnati, Ohio, which could scale to 8 gigawatts.
Nvidia announced on Monday it will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a data center and power developer linked to SoftBank and OpenAI. The deal makes Nvidia the exclusive supplier of compute infrastructure at OpenAI's Ports-Pike data center near Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to the equity investment, Nvidia will provide up to $105 billion in credit to support construction of the facility, which is planned to scale from an initial 4.25 gigawatts to 8 gigawatts of capacity, according to SEC filings. SB Energy's current investors include SoftBank and OpenAI. SoftBank previously held $5.8 billion in Nvidia stock, which it sold in November 2025 to fund other AI ventures. SB Energy plans to build a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant on the site, located on U.S. Department of Energy land that was formerly used to enrich uranium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal and Navy submarines. The power plant is estimated to cost $33 billion, reflecting a 66% rise in natural gas plant construction costs over the past two years, according to BloombergNEF. Analysts note that when these plants come online, they may compete with export markets for natural gas, potentially tripling prices in some regions.