Nvidia is putting $1.5B into SB Energy, the SoftBank-backed developer behind a planned AI megacampus in Pike County, Ohio, where OpenAI will be the anchor tenant. The companies say the site will eventually host 8 IT-GW of AI factory capacity.
The campus is being built around the decommissioned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. SB Energy will build, own and operate the data centers on site. OpenAI signs on as tenant under a 20-year lease, while Nvidia keeps an option over the remaining capacity. The first phase, sized at 4.25 IT-GW, is scheduled to come online in stages starting in 2028 and will run Nvidia’s DSX AI factory platform, spanning GPUs, CPUs and networking.
Nvidia’s $1.5B equity stake joins existing investors SoftBank Group and OpenAI. At least 10 GW of fresh generation and $4.2B in grid upgrades are slated for the region through a partnership with utility AEP Ohio, which the companies say is designed to protect ratepayers. OpenAI doubled the project’s community fund, adding another $40M on top of SB Energy’s original pledge.
“Land, power and shell have become vital in the age of AI,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The deal is the latest sign that GPU vendors are moving beyond chips into the physical infrastructure that keeps AI factories running.
