Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project

Nvidia announced Monday it will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a data center developer backed by SoftBank and OpenAI, and provide up to $105 billion in credit to build OpenAI's Ports-Pike data center near Cincinnati, Ohio, where Nvidia will be the sole compute infrastructure supplier. The facility, which could scale from 4.25 to 8 gigawatts, includes a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant expected to cost $33 billion, reflecting a 66% rise in gas plant costs over two years.

Nvidia said https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/securing-the-infrastructure-of-intelligence/ on Monday that it will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a data center linked to SoftBank and OpenAI. The investment ensures that Nvidia will be the sole supplier of compute infrastructure at OpenAI’s Ports-Pike data center near Cincinnati, Ohio. Nvidia will also provide up to $105 billion in credit to help build the facility, which could scale from an initial 4.25 gigawatts to 8 gigawatts in size, according to documents https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001045810/988230c7-dd29-466b-92dc-5cf34f65b60f.pdf the company filed with the SEC. SB Energy’s existing investors include SoftBank and OpenAI. SoftBank had previously held $5.8 billion worth of Nvidia stock, which it sold in November https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/11/softbank-sells-its-entire-stake-in-nvidia-for-5point83-billion.html to help fund other AI investments. The data center and power developer will build a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant https://www.energy.gov/articles/fact-sheet-department-energy-ensuring-affordable-energy-access-ohio-while-powering-future on the site, which is land owned by the U.S. Department of Energy. The site previously enriched uranium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal and for U.S. Navy submarines. The power plant is expected to cost $33 billion https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/19/softbank-to-spend-an-eye-popping-33b-to-build-huge-u-s-gas-power-plant/ . The steep sum reflects the skyrocketing costs of building natural gas power plants, which have risen 66% in the last two years https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/27/data-center-demand-drives-66-surge-in-natural-gas-power-plant-costs/ , according to BloombergNEF. By the time SB Energy’s power plant and others are completed, they’ll be competing for natural gas with export markets, a confluence that could triple natural gas prices https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/14/hyperscalers-might-regret-embracing-natural-gas-if-new-forecast-proves-correct/ in some parts of the country.