# Nvidia and OpenAI in talks over $500 billion data centre, with funding from Japan > Source: > Published: 2026-07-27 17:17:00+00:00 ##### Nvidia and OpenAI have held talks to spend roughly US$500 billion on a data centre in southern Ohio, potentially becoming the largest such project by power capacity in the world by far. ##### Key Facts - Nvidia has discussed providing US$250 billion to OpenAI to help the ChatGPT maker lease a proposed 10-gigawatt site being developed about 50 miles south of Columbus, Ohio, by SoftBank’s energy subsidiary SBEnergy, the Wall Street Journal , citing people familiar with the matter.__reported__ - That would dwarf the power output of other planned data centre projects, including a US$20 billion, 3.2-gigawatt project in Effingham County, Georgia, by OpenAI last week.__announced__ - The full project could cost more than US$500 billion with the added costs of Nvidia’s chips, and OpenAI is discussing a chip purchase valued up to US$350 billion, the Journal reported. - Power for the site—located on federally owned land—is controlled by the US and funded by Japan, which agreed to fund US$33 billion as part of a commitment to invest in the US in exchange for lower tariffs. - Japan and the US would share proceeds from power sales at the site until Japan recoups its US$33 billion, after which the US would hold 90 per cent control. - The project’s first phase is expected to be completed by 2028 with around 800 megawatts of power. ##### What to watch for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is reportedly involved in deciding which companies will receive access to power at the site. Anthropic, Microsoft and Google have also spoken to Lutnick about interest in the site. ##### Surprising fact The average US household used 865 kilowatt-hours per month in 2024, [ according](https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65244&) to the Energy Information Administration, meaning the proposed data centre’s maximum 10 gigawatt output would be enough to power roughly 8.4 million US homes. ##### Big number More than US$500 billion. That’s the size of Nvidia’s deal to acquire AI memory supply from SK Hynix, the company announced Friday. Nvidia said the transaction includes the construction of large-scale data centres expected to come online in 2027. ##### Key background Nvidia’s potential funding for OpenAI’s data centre could become the latest multibillion-dollar AI-related transaction involving mega-cap firms this year. Meta announced plans to expand a Louisiana data centre to 5 gigawatts, with total planned investments exceeding US$50 billion. Alphabet announced a major equity raise last month to finance AI infrastructure, with US$10 billion of the $80 billion planned capital raise coming from Berkshire Hathaway. In April, Amazon agreed to increase its investment in Anthropic to US$25 billion, while Anthropic committed to a more than US$100 billion long-term purchase of Amazon’s cloud technology over 10 years. *This story was originally published on forbes.com* *Want to see more Forbes articles on your feed? **Tap here to make Forbes Australia a preferred source on Google.* *Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. **Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here** or **become a member here**.*