Nvidia Slashes Ohio Data Center Guarantee Amid Investor Concerns

Nvidia has revised its plan to guarantee financial support for OpenAI's Ohio data center project, cutting its initial commitment below $120 billion. The original figure was a staggering $250 billion, but investor concerns about Nvidia's exposure to large AI financing commitments have prompted the chipmaker to reassess its risk.

The smaller guarantee would only cover the first phase of the 10-gigawatt project, while OpenAI continues to negotiate a binding lease for the entire site. This change follows a recent financing partnership between Nvidia and six major financial institutions, which aims to raise over $500 billion in third-party capital.

Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg warned that vendor-financing arrangements can backfire, citing Lucent Technologies as an example. While Nvidia is still expected to support the initial phase of the project, the revised guarantee has shifted more financing responsibility onto outside investors.