Nvidia and OpenAI are reportedly planning a massive $500 billion data center project in southern Ohio, potentially the world’s largest by power capacity, with Nvidia investing $250 billion and OpenAI negotiating a $350 billion chip purchase to support a 10-gigawatt facility. This initiative, involving international partnerships and government oversight, reflects the escalating investments in AI infrastructure by major tech firms to meet the growing computational demands of advanced AI models.
NVIDIA and OpenAI are reportedly in discussions to invest up to $500 billion in a massive data center project located in southern Ohio, potentially making it the world’s largest data center by power capacity. Nvidia is considering providing $250 billion to OpenAI to help lease a proposed 10-gigawatt site being developed by SoftBank’s energy subsidiary, SB Energy, about 50 miles south of Columbus. This project would significantly surpass other planned data centers, including a recent $20 billion, 3.2-gigawatt facility announced by OpenAI in Georgia.
To put the scale into perspective, the proposed data center’s power output could supply electricity to approximately 8.4 million average U.S. households, based on 2024 energy consumption data. The total project cost could exceed $500 billion when factoring in Nvidia’s chip contributions, with OpenAI reportedly negotiating a chip purchase valued at up to $350 billion. The site is located on federally owned land, with power controlled by the U.S. government and funded in part by Japan, which has committed $33 billion as part of a trade agreement involving lower tariffs.
Japan and the U.S. will share revenue from power sales at the site until Japan recoups its investment, after which the U.S. will assume 90% control. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2028, delivering around 800 megawatts of power. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is playing a key role in determining which companies will gain access to power at the site, with other major AI players like Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google reportedly expressing interest.
This potential Nvidia-OpenAI partnership represents one of several multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure investments by major technology firms this year. Meta plans to expand a Louisiana data center to 5 gigawatts with over $50 billion in investments, Alphabet recently raised significant equity to fund AI infrastructure, and Amazon increased its investment in Anthropic to $25 billion, with Anthropic committing to a $100 billion cloud technology purchase from Amazon over ten years.
Overall, the Ohio data center project highlights the escalating scale and investment in AI-related infrastructure, driven by the growing demand for computational power to support advanced AI models like ChatGPT. The collaboration between Nvidia, OpenAI, and international partners underscores the strategic importance of AI technology and the significant resources being mobilized to maintain leadership in this rapidly evolving field.