Aug 17 (Reuters) – Nvidia will invest $1.5 billion in SoftBank-backed <9984.T> SB Energy and secure up to 8 gigawatts of AI computing capacity at an Ohio campus being built by the data center developer for OpenAI.
The deal is the latest where Nvidia is financing the ecosystem consuming its chips, a strategy that has helped fuel demand but also drawn scrutiny over the circular flows of funds from the chipmaker to its biggest customers.
Leading tech firms are increasingly tying together chips, power and data center development as they race to secure the infrastructure needed for increasingly power-hungry AI models.
Chip giant Nvidia has secured land and power at Ohio’s PORTS-Pike Technology Campus for an AI data center that will use its graphics processors and networking gear, with an initial capacity of 4.25 GW.
SB Energy and SoftBank plan to build at least 10 GW of new power generation and invest $4.2 billion in Ohio grid infrastructure to support AI data centers.
Also backed by OpenAI, SB Energy develops large-scale power and data center infrastructure projects. Founded in 2019, the company is building several data center campuses to support rising demand tied to AI workloads.
(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
