OpenAI wins support from Nvidia to lock in 20-year lease for Ohio data center

OpenAI signs a 20-year lease for Ohio data center with Nvidia guarantees of up to US$105 billion.

OpenAI has signed a 20-year lease that will receive an initial 4.25 GW of artificial intelligence computing capacity at an Ohio data center supported by Nvidia with a guarantee of up to US$105 billion.

Highlights Overview

OpenAI's lease on the PORTS-Pike Campus is expected to start in phases in 2028. Nvidia capped its initial guarantee obligations at a total of $105 billion. SB Energy will be responsible for the construction, ownership and operation of the Pike County data center. Nvidia will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy and provide artificial intelligence systems on the campus.

Nvidia said in an August 17 announcement that OpenAI will use the PORTS-Pike Technology Park in Pike County, where SB Energy will build, own and operate infrastructure under a long-term lease. The chipmaker will serve as the exclusive artificial intelligence computing provider for the park, providing its DSX artificial intelligence factory platform. OpenAI's systems will use NVIDIA's GPUs, CPUs and network equipment, and the first batch of capacity is planned to be put into use in phases starting in 2028.

The park spans private and federal land and will occupy the former Portsmouth gas diffusion plant and surrounding properties in southern Ohio. SB Energy is working with American Electric Power Company Ohio, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce to develop the project. Nvidia has obtained the land, power and building enclosure needed for the initial 4.25 GW of IT load, while also holding options for the remaining 3.75 GW of capacity, which is expected to increase the park's total artificial intelligence capacity to 8 GW.

NVIDIA provides US$105 billion in lease guarantees

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 17, NVIDIA disclosed multiple residual value guarantee agreements covering OpenAI's original 4.25 GW commitment. Under these agreements, the company's combined payment obligations must not exceed $105 billion. Each guarantee will normally take effect when the relevant lease is initiated, provided SB Energy meets the ready service conditions for the corresponding part of the park.

Documents show that OpenAI is still responsible for paying rent. Nvidia only assumes payment obligations if OpenAI is insolvent, defaults, or fails to pay the required amount. After such an event, Nvidia will typically make up the difference between the minimum value of the lease guarantee and the amount SB Energy recovers through replacement tenants or property sales. Nvidia can also choose to take over the lease, ask SB Energy to find other tenants, initiate the sale process, or terminate the lease. Another provision allows Nvidia to defer the remedies for up to one year while paying for certain project costs. OpenAI has agreed to reimburse Nvidia for any payments made to SB Energy under the guarantee.

The guarantee for each part may continue until the 20th anniversary of the relevant lease. If OpenAI terminates the lease in accordance with the terms of the lease, achieves a satisfactory credit rating, or meets other termination conditions specified in the agreement, Nvidia's obligations may end prematurely. In response to concerns about revolving financing, Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun said that lease payments would be borne by OpenAI rather than the chip manufacturer. If OpenAI does not use the capacity, the venue can be made available to other eligible customers. "Nvidia Computing is versatile, replaceable and widely adopted," Huang wrote, adding that the capacity can be resold to cloud service providers, enterprises, artificial intelligence laboratories or startups in the company's customer network.

OpenAI will use Nvidia's complete artificial intelligence technology stack

At the Ohio site, OpenAI will deploy Nvidia's DSX platform in the initial 4.25 GW construction, subject to the limited exceptions disclosed in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The platform integrates data center facilities, computing hardware, networks and software into one system. Huang Renxun described land, electricity and completed data center space as key resources for the artificial intelligence industry, as companies require a large amount of power commitments before installing computing equipment. "We are ensuring long-term infrastructure for Nvidia Computing so that OpenAI can deploy the most efficient artificial intelligence factories," Huang Renxun said.

In addition to the guarantee, Nvidia will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy. The investment will put the chipmaker on a par with existing investors SoftBank Group and OpenAI, while also funding SB Energy's data center project and local commitments. SB Energy and SoftBank plan to build at least 10 gigawatts of new power generation capacity to support 8 gigawatts of IT capacity. Nvidia said the two companies will also invest at least $4.2 billion in regional power grid infrastructure through an agreement with AEP Ohio. According to the announcement, the power and grid arrangements are designed to prevent existing Ohio power customers from bearing the capital costs of the project. Rich Hossfeld, co-CEO of SB Energy, said the group would build the site while "protecting taxpayers" and invest in southern Ohio.

According to Reuters, the project is expected to support approximately 35,000 construction jobs and create approximately 2500 permanent operating positions by 2032. OpenAI and SB Energy have also established an $80 million community welfare fund, of which OpenAI added an additional $40 million to SB Energy's original commitment. Funds from the fund will be used for affordable energy, workforce training, employment plans and local economic development. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company hopes Pike County residents will benefit through employment, business opportunities and community investment.

Artificial intelligence demand intensifies competition for electricity and land

OpenAI's lease adds another big infrastructure commitment as artificial intelligence companies compete for power, grid connectivity and data center space. Advanced computing projects often take years to prepare because utilities must add generation and transmission capacity before servers can start running. For cryptocurrency investors, the same demand has increased interest in Bitcoin miners, who already control land with electricity and grid connections. OpenAI also distributes its models through diversified cloud services. In April, the company expanded AWS access after revising its relationship with Microsoft to make the OpenAI model and its Codex agents available through Amazon Bedrock.

While ensuring additional computing power, OpenAI continues to prepare for a possible public offering. Reports in June said executives were considering the possibility of an initial public offering in 2027 rather than accepting a lower valuation in 2026. Polymarket traders currently believe that the probability of OpenAI completing its IPO before the end of 2026 is about 20%. Nvidia said the full guarantee agreement will be submitted as an attachment to Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ending July 26, 2026.