Nvidia Scales Back OpenAI Ohio Data-Center Guarantee Toward $100 Billion
On August 14, 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported Nvidia is now expected to initially guarantee less than $120 billion—down from the $250 billion discussed in July—for OpenAI’s proposed 10-gigawatt Ohio data-center lease, with the two sides nearing a first-phase backstop; The Information later put the figure at about $100 billion.
TLDR
Nvidia has revised the financial backstop it is negotiating for OpenAI’s proposed ~10 GW data-center project in southern Ohio (Pike County in follow-on notes). The Wall Street Journal, reported August 14, 2026 via Reuters, said Nvidia is now expected to initially guarantee less than $120 billion, down from the ~$250 billion discussed in a July 26 WSJ exclusive, and that the companies are nearing an agreement covering only the first phase. The Information on August 16 described Nvidia as close to guaranteeing about $100 billion in credit for the same campus. No lab primary and no signed deal. Project cost including chips has been sketched above $500 billion.
What changed vs July
| Date | Source | Claim |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 26 | WSJ exclusive | Nvidia in talks to guarantee ~$250 billion so OpenAI can lease a 10 GW Ohio campus; total project >$500 billion including chips |
| Aug 14 | WSJ via Reuters | Guarantee cut to <$120 billion initially; first phase only; sides nearing a deal |
| Aug 16 | The Information | Close to ~$100 billion credit guarantee for the same Ohio site |
This file is the August 14 scale-back / near-deal update—not a dual-date of the July talks, and not a second story for the Aug 16 TI number. Distinct from Nvidia’s Aug 10 $500 billion compute-financing MOUs (nvidia-500-billion-ai-compute-financing).
Limits: talks, not a close; dollar figures from people familiar, not 8-Ks; chips vs lease backstop were already separated in July coverage (guarantee on lease/debt, not necessarily the GPUs).
Why this story matters
A quarter-trillion Nvidia wrap around one OpenAI campus was the circular-financing chart that rattled public-market investors. Cutting it to a ~$100–120 billion first phase is still enormous—and still Nvidia helping its largest customer finance the building that will buy more Nvidia. Watch: whether a definitive agreement files, how the U.S. government–linked power angle in the July WSJ piece is structured, and whether Anthropic’s Theseus (Aug 10) looks conservative by comparison.
Sources
- Reuters: Nvidia scales back funding guarantee for Ohio OpenAI data center, WSJ reports (August 14, 2026)
- WSJ: Nvidia in Talks With OpenAI to Guarantee $250 Billion Financing (July 26, 2026; updated in Aug 14 follow)
- The Information: Nvidia Close to Deal to Guarantee About $100 Billion in Credit for OpenAI (August 16, 2026)