OpenAI leases 10-gigawatt AI data center campus from SoftBank’s SB Energy

OpenAI Group PBC today announced that it has signed a 20-year lease for a sprawling data center cluster in Ohio.

The campus is being built on the premises of a former uranium processing plant. The construction project is led by SB Energy, a SoftBank Group Corp. unit that develops data centers and energy infrastructure. SB Energy will own and operate the Ohio campus once construction is complete. 

According to OpenAI, the site will be supported by at least 10 gigawatts of new energy infrastructure. SB Energy plans to build a $33 billion power plant and link it to the data center campus using $4.2 billion worth of power transmission lines.

OpenAI didn’t disclose how much the campus itself will cost. According to the Wall Street Journal, the site is set to host hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia Corp. chips.

The graphics card giant is backstopping the first 4.25 gigawatts of data center capacity. The Journal’s sources stated that Nvidia could extend the credit support to the entire campus. Furthermore, the company has reportedly agreed to cover SB Energy’s losses if OpenAI scraps the lease and no other tenant is found. Nvidia will reportedly “pay any difference in the value, up to $105 billion” if the SoftBank unit has to sell the site.