The data center will be built in Ohio
The project is implemented in Pike County, Ohio. SB Energy will be responsible for building, owning and managing the campus, while OpenAI will lease it for the duration 20 years.
The initial capacity of the data center will be 4.25 GW. The launch of the object will take place in stages, starting from 2028 year.
In the future, the campus will be able to receive up to 8 GW of computing power.
Nvidia will be a key supplier
Nvidia will have the exclusive right to supply the new campus with computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence.
The company will also participate in the financing of the costs related to the land, electricity supply and construction of the first stage of the facility. Additionally, Nvidia will be able to provide more 3.75 GW of power.
Thus, the company simultaneously acts investor, financial guarantor and equipment supplier for an infrastructure that will use its own chips.
The project requires huge amounts of electricity
The scale of a data center requires not only servers and GPUs, but also the corresponding energy infrastructure.
SoftBank and SB Energy plan to create at least 10 GW of new generating capacity. Yet $4.2 billion provided for regional power grid development in partnership with AEP Ohio.
This demonstrates how rapidly the growth of artificial intelligence is changing the demands on data centers. To launch large AI projects, companies increasingly need not only chips, but also land, electricity, generation and networks.
Nvidia is effectively funding future demand for its own chips
For Nvidia, the deal is of strategic importance. The company invests in infrastructure that will use its own computing equipment in the future.
Such a model allows the chip manufacturer to support the development of AI infrastructure and at the same time to form long-term demand for its own technologies.
At the same time, such close financial ties between the equipment supplier and one of the largest customers attract the attention of the market. Nvidia actually assumes part of the financial risk of the large-scale OpenAI project.
One of the largest AI infrastructure projects
The new campus in Ohio will be part of a large-scale deployment of OpenAI's computing infrastructure in the US.
Combination Nvidia's $1.5 billion investment, guaranteed lease payments of up to $105 billion, 4.25 GW of initial capacity and a potential 8 GW shows the scale of resources needed for the development of modern artificial intelligence systems.
It was previously reported that OpenAI planned to lease a large data center in Ohio with the participation of Nvidia and SoftBank. The parties have now expanded their cooperation, adding significant financing and energy infrastructure.
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