Nvidia and OpenAI Sign PORTS-Pike: $1.5 Billion Into SB Energy and a $105 Billion Backstop
On August 17, 2026, Nvidia and OpenAI confirmed a signed Ohio campus deal: Nvidia invests $1.5 billion in SoftBank’s SB Energy, takes exclusive compute at PORTS-Pike, and—per Reuters, CNBC, and Nvidia’s 8-K—provides up to $105 billion of credit support for an initial 4.25 IT-GW with an option on 3.75 more; OpenAI is the 20-year tenant for about 8 IT-GW.
TLDR
Monday, August 17, 2026: Nvidia and OpenAI published matching primaries on PORTS-Pike in Pike County, Ohio. SB Energy (SoftBank) will build, own, and operate the campus under a 20-year lease to OpenAI. Nvidia is the exclusive AI-compute provider, invests $1.5 billion in SB Energy, and provides credit support on land/power/shell for an initial 4.25 IT-GW, with an option on the remaining 3.75 IT-GW (~8 IT-GW OpenAI customer capacity). Reuters and CNBC, citing Nvidia’s Form 8-K, put the guarantee at up to $105 billion. First 800 MW targeted 2028. This supersedes the Aug 14 “talks / <$120B” file and the Aug 15 “up to $3B equity talks”—the signed equity check is $1.5 billion, not $3 billion.
Deal sheet
| Piece | Signed Aug 17 (Nvidia PR + OpenAI Global Affairs + 8-K/wires) |
|---|---|
| Site | PORTS-Pike (former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant + private land); DOE and Commerce involved |
| Tenant | OpenAI, 20-year lease; pays as capacity comes online |
| Landlord / developer | SB Energy; ≥10 GW new generation; $4.2B AEP Ohio grid spend (ratepayer-protection framing) |
| Chips | Nvidia DSX full stack; exclusive Nvidia compute |
| IT capacity | 4.25 IT-GW first; option +3.75; OpenAI contracting ~8 IT-GW |
| Nvidia equity | $1.5B into SB Energy (joining SoftBank + OpenAI) |
| Credit wrap | Nvidia 8-K / Reuters / CNBC: up to $105B guarantee on lease/power and a minimum residual value—not the full project cost |
| Jobs / community | 35,000 construction through 2032; 2,500 operating; $80M community fund ($40M SB Energy + $40M OpenAI) |
| Ohio Codex credits | OpenAI: $84M Codex credits for ~844,000 eligible Ohio college students ($100 each, 2026–27) |
| Huang / Altman / Son / Hossfeld | On-record quotes in the Nvidia release |
Nvidia newsroom summary does not print “$105 billion”; that figure is in the 8-K and wires. Huang told Reuters the structure is not circular financing. Wires add Nvidia could see ~$200B revenue from the initial 4.25 GW site and ~$600B from OpenAI by 2030 including the option—forward-looking, not booked.
Product-line de-dupe: not a dual-date of Aug 10 $500B MOUs, Aug 14 scale-back talks, or Aug 15 $3B SB Energy equity talks. Aug 17 is the close.
Why this story matters
The Ohio campus is no longer a rumor stack. Nvidia is now chip vendor, equity holder in the power developer, and credit backstop—the most complete circular-financing specimen in the 2026 buildout, with a federal land redevelopment wrapper. Watch: 8-K fine print on what the $105B actually covers, CFIUS/energy-regulator review, and whether the $3B Saturday figure was always going to settle at $1.5B.
Sources
- NVIDIA: Guarantees SB Energy’s PORTS-Pike campus to exclusively host NVIDIA AI compute (August 17, 2026)
- OpenAI: OpenAI joins PORTS-Pike project (August 17, 2026)
- Reuters: Nvidia to provide up to $105 billion guarantee (August 17, 2026)
- CNBC: Nvidia backing $105 billion; cites Form 8-K (August 17, 2026)
- Times of AI:
nvidia-openai-ohio-credit-guarantee(August 14);nvidia-sb-energy-3-billion-talks(August 15)