TL;DR · 30-second read
The Short Version
Nvidia, which makes the chips behind many AI systems, has promised to cover up to $105 billion if OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, cannot pay for a giant computing site in Ohio. Think of a parent co-signing a very large lease.
The first stage is planned around as much electricity as four large nuclear reactors produce. Nvidia’s promise applies only once the site is ready, so late buildings or late power are largely the developer’s risk.
If the AI boom cools, this deal shows who is on the hook, and for what.
Nvidia disclosed in an 8-K filed August 17, 2026 that it has entered residual value guaranties, a form of financial backstop, on leases for approximately 4.25 gigawatts of IT load at SB Energy’s PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio. An OpenAI affiliate will be the tenant, and Nvidia’s aggregate payment obligation for this initial commitment is capped at $105 billion.
Nvidia’s press release says it will also invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, will be the exclusive AI compute provider at the site, and holds an option on the remaining 3.75 gigawatts of the planned 8-gigawatt campus. Capacity is expected to come online in phases beginning in 2028.
Executive Summary
Nvidia has agreed to stand behind OpenAI’s lease obligations at one of the largest AI campuses announced to date, using its credit to secure land, power and shell capacity, meaning the site, its electricity and the building, for its own computing systems. SB Energy will build, own and operate the data center under a 20-year lease to OpenAI.
The $105 billion figure is a ceiling on a contingent obligation, not money spent. Nvidia pays only if OpenAI becomes insolvent and defaults or fails to make lease payments, and then generally only the shortfall between a guaranteed minimum lease value and what a replacement lease or sale recovers.
The structure matters because of what it covers and what it does not. As described in the 8-K, the guarantee addresses tenant credit risk once premises meet ready-for-service conditions. The earlier risks, including whether buildings and power arrive on schedule, sit mainly with SB Energy, SoftBank and whoever finances the build.
A $105 Billion Cap Is Not $105 Billion in Cash
Reuters described the commitment as a guarantee of up to $105 billion, CNBC as backing for financing, and Yahoo Finance as an investment of up to that amount. Nvidia’s 8-K defines the number precisely: it is the cumulative cap on Nvidia’s payment obligation for its initial commitment under residual value guaranties. A residual value guaranty promises a landlord that an asset, here a lease, will hold a minimum value. If it does not, the guarantor makes up the difference.
The cash Nvidia has said it will commit now is the separate $1.5 billion investment in SB Energy. The guarantee is contingent. After a trigger event, Nvidia may assume the lease, require the lessor to seek a new tenant, start a sale process, allow the lease to terminate, or defer those choices for up to one year while paying specified project costs. Its payment is generally the shortfall left after a replacement lease or sale, so the real exposure depends on what the campus is worth to someone else at that moment.
Dividing the cap by the 4.25 gigawatts it covers gives about $24.7 billion per gigawatt of IT load, the power used by the computing equipment itself. That is a measure of the guarantee ceiling rather than a construction cost, since the guaranteed minimum lease values have not been published. It is still a useful yardstick for the scale of the lease obligations Nvidia is prepared to stand behind.
Where the Guarantee Stops: Power and Construction Timing
The most consequential line in the 8-K may be the condition on payment. An agreement generally becomes effective when the applicable lease commences, and Nvidia’s obligations are subject to specified conditions, including that the lessor has met ready-for-service conditions for the relevant premises, expected beginning in 2028. In plain terms, the facility has to be delivered before the guarantee can be called on.
That points to a split in risk. If OpenAI cannot pay for a finished facility, Nvidia is exposed up to the cap. If the buildings or electricity arrive late, the guarantee as described does not appear to respond, and the delay falls first on the parties responsible for delivery. SB Energy will build, own and operate the data center. SB Energy and SoftBank have also committed to at least 10 gigawatts of new generation and at least $4.2 billion in regional grid infrastructure through a partnership with AEP Ohio, the local utility. Those are large obligations to carry before a guarantee of this kind becomes relevant.
Two qualifications apply. The press release describes Nvidia’s support as covering the land, power and shell buildout, and the full agreements will not be available until their form is filed with Nvidia’s quarterly report, so details could refine this reading. Nvidia is also not indifferent to delay: its $1.5 billion stake in SB Energy and the planned deployment of its systems both depend on the campus being delivered. But that is commercial exposure, not a payment obligation under the guaranties.
A Chipmaker’s Balance Sheet Standing In for a Credit Rating
Among the events that end Nvidia’s obligations is OpenAI achieving a satisfactory credit rating, alongside the 20th anniversary of the lease, OpenAI’s termination of the lease in accordance with its terms, and other customary events. That clause suggests the guarantee is bridging a gap between OpenAI’s current credit standing and the level the agreements treat as sufficient. Nvidia is lending its credit to its customer’s lease, and in return it secures capacity that will exclusively host its compute.
The arrangement gives Nvidia something concrete. OpenAI will use the 4.25 gigawatts to deploy Nvidia’s full-stack DSX platform, including GPUs, CPUs and networking, subject to limited exceptions. CEO Jensen Huang frames the campus as “long-lived infrastructure” that can be upgraded with each hardware generation, which is the core argument that the site could retain value beyond any single chip cycle.
The question for investors is how independent the protections are. OpenAI has agreed to reimburse and indemnify Nvidia for amounts paid, but that promise would be tested in exactly the scenario in which OpenAI has failed to pay. A broad fall in AI demand could also weaken the replacement-tenant market and Nvidia’s hardware sales at the same time. This is one deal, and it does not by itself establish an industry pattern, but it does show that chipmaker credit can sit at the center of a gigawatt-scale build.
Reading the Campus Claims
Some figures are firmer than others. The 4.25 gigawatts, the $105 billion cap and the payment triggers are set out in a securities filing. The further capacity is conditional: Nvidia can provide credit support for roughly 3.8 gigawatts more, as the 8-K puts it, or 3.75 gigawatts in the press release, exercisable in its sole discretion. The full 8-gigawatt campus therefore depends on a later decision, even though the release names OpenAI as the customer for all of it.
The release’s 10 gigawatts of generation for 8 gigawatts of IT load implies 1.25 gigawatts of generation per gigawatt of computing load. That leaves room for cooling and other needs, though the companies have not itemized the difference. Community claims are less specific: the $80 million benefits fund is a defined amount, made up of $40 million from SB Energy and $40 million from OpenAI, while “tens of thousands” of jobs and protection for ratepayers are stated without a published breakdown or mechanism.
Background
SB Energy is an AI infrastructure developer whose existing investors include SoftBank Group and OpenAI, and Nvidia is now joining them. Its PORTS-Pike Technology Campus is redeveloping the decommissioned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and surrounding land in Appalachian Ohio, across both private and federal property.
AI data centers depend on more than chips. Developers must also secure land, electricity and the physical building, often shortened to “land, power and shell”, and those long-term commitments can require a tenant with strong credit. Nvidia, best known for its AI processors, is using its own credit in this deal to secure that capacity for its systems. Source: Nvidia backing $105 billion in financing for OpenAI data center in Ohio, CNBC’s report on Nvidia’s support for OpenAI’s Ohio campus. Primary sources: Nvidia 8-K filed 2026-08-17; NVIDIA Guarantees SB Energy’s PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Ohio to Exclusively Host NVIDIA AI Compute (Exhibit 99.1 to 8-K); Nvidia backing $105 billion in financing for OpenAI data center in Ohio – CNBC; Nvidia to provide up to $105 billion guarantee for OpenAI’s Ohio data center – Reuters; Nvidia to Invest Up to $105 Billion for OpenAI Data Center – Yahoo Finance.Sources