OpenAI data center deal with Nvidia $145 bn below reported, raising chip demand concerns
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| Source: Fortune on MSN | Original article
A review shows Nvidia’s guarantee for OpenAI’s data‑center campus is $145 billion lower than reported, sparking concerns over circular financing and artificial chip demand.
Nvidia has trimmed its financial guarantee for OpenAI’s planned Ohio data‑center campus to $105 billion, a far cry from the roughly $250 billion level that was floated in July. The reduction, disclosed in an SEC filing, follows two rounds of scaling back after the Wall Street Journal and CNBC reported the earlier, larger figure.
The deal centres on a lease of a data‑center campus in Pike County, Ohio, which OpenAI will hold from SB Energy for up to 20 years. Nvidia will supply the exclusive chips for the first phase and is also committing $1.5 billion to SB Energy. The campus is slated to reach as much as 8 gigawatts of computing capacity once fully built.
The gap between the initial headline and the final guarantee has sparked “circular financing” concerns, as analysts question whether Nvidia’s investment is being used to prop up OpenAI’s lease commitments rather than reflect independent demand for chips. If the guarantee is tied to OpenAI’s spending rather than a stand‑alone order, it could signal an artificial boost to chip sales and obscure the true market appetite for high‑end AI hardware.
Stakeholders will be watching the next set of SEC disclosures for clues about the final structure of the guarantee and any contingent obligations. Market participants will also monitor OpenAI’s rollout timeline, the pace of equipment installation, and whether other chipmakers seek similar financing arrangements. The evolution of this deal could shape expectations for AI‑related capital spending and inform regulatory scrutiny of large‑scale, vertically linked tech partnerships.
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