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Nvidia and OpenAI in talks for up to $250 billion dollar AI backstop
CNBC • • general
Key Points:
- OpenAI is negotiating with Nvidia for a $250 billion backstop to finance a massive 10 gigawatt AI data center campus in Pike County, Ohio, which could cost over $500 billion in total.
- The backstop would allow OpenAI to raise debt for leasing and construction based on Nvidia's credit, but it does not cover Nvidia chips, which are being negotiated separately.
- The Ohio site, formerly a uranium-enrichment plant, would support an AI data center with power consumption equivalent to 8 million U.S. households.
- Nvidia previously pledged up to $100 billion in investment to OpenAI but only contributed $30 billion in a funding round; the company may not invest further before OpenAI's planned IPO, for which no timeline is set.
- OpenAI is valued near $1 trillion amid growing competition from companies like Anthropic, Google, Amazon, and Meta, while SoftBank and SB Energy, partners with the U.S. Department of Energy, are also involved in the Ohio data center development.
