Nvidia has secured a long‑term foothold in one of the largest AI infrastructure projects in the United States, finalizing a deal with SB Energy to lock down land, power, and core facilities at the PORTS‑Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio. The agreement positions Nvidia as the exclusive provider of AI compute for the site, which is being built to support OpenAI’s massive next‑generation workloads.
Image Courtesy : nvidia.com
The campus is designed to scale up to 8 gigawatts of IT capacity, beginning with an initial 4.25 GW phase and an option for the remaining 3.75 GW. Nvidia’s DSX AI factory platform—GPUs, CPUs, networking, and full‑stack infrastructure—will power the entire site under a 20‑year lease with OpenAI. SB Energy will build, own, and operate the facility, while Nvidia provides credit support to secure the land, power, and shell construction needed to guarantee long‑term compute availability.
To reinforce the project, Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion into SB Energy, joining SoftBank and OpenAI as major stakeholders. The deal also includes residual‑value guarantees capped at $105 billion, ensuring the site retains minimum value even if OpenAI defaults—an arrangement Nvidia says is about securing scarce infrastructure rather than financing demand.
The Ohio campus sits on the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a Cold War‑era uranium enrichment site now being redeveloped through a public‑private partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and AEP Ohio. The project will require 10 GW of new energy generation and billions in regional grid upgrades, reflecting the enormous power demands of frontier AI. It also includes an $80 million community benefits fund aimed at workforce development, affordable energy, and local infrastructure.
With operations expected to begin in 2028, Nvidia’s move signals a broader industry shift: AI compute is no longer just hardware—it’s land, power, and long‑term infrastructure. By locking down an exclusive campus, Nvidia is securing the physical foundation for the next generation of AI factories and ensuring OpenAI has the capacity to scale its most ambitious models.