Nvidia scales back funding guarantee for Ohio OpenAI data center: Report

Nvidia has reduced its pledge to back an upcoming OpenAI data center in Ohio, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The chipmaker was initially planning to guarantee up to $250 billion for the project, but now expects to commit less than $120 billion, the newspaper reported on Friday. The change came after investors expressed worries about Nvidia's exposure to significant financial commitments, the Journal said.

Nvidia and OpenAI are reportedly close to finalizing an agreement, with the company expected to provide backing only for the initial phase of the project. A deal may be sealed as early as this weekend, the newspaper added. The decision to scale back funding was made amid concerns about Nvidia's risk exposure tied to large financing commitments, the WSJ explained.

OpenAI is still negotiating a long-term lease for the full 10-gigawatt data center project, which is being developed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank. If completed, the site would be the largest AI infrastructure project announced to date. Nvidia has not yet commented on the revised funding plan, while OpenAI declined to provide a statement.

The data center project aims to advance OpenAI's goal of owning AI infrastructure, but the company's ability to fund large-scale commitments remains uncertain due to its ongoing financial struggles, despite a market valuation of $852 billion.