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Nvidia to invest $3B in SoftBank's SB Energy to help OpenAI build data centers
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According to tech media outlet The Information, citing sources familiar with the matter on Saturday local time, Nvidia is in talks to invest up to $3 billion (approximately RMB 20.282 billion) in SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank. The funds will be used to support the large-scale data center project in Ohio that OpenAI is developing. Currently, the three parties have entered deep discussions.
The report said that this proposed investment is part of a broader tripartite cooperation. Nvidia, OpenAI, and SB Energy are discussing providing approximately $100 billion (about RMB 676.061 billion) in credit support for the planned data center campus in Ohio. The scale highlights the huge capital investment required for AI infrastructure construction.
Nvidia's investment plan is divided into two parts. First, half of the amount—$1.5 billion—will be paid when the Ohio project is formally signed; second, the remaining half will be invested when SB Energy launches its IPO. This arrangement ties the investment to project milestones and capital market processes, reducing upfront risks.
SB Energy plans to go public as soon as next month, with an IPO fundraising target of at least $5 billion. Founded in 2019, the company focuses on large-scale power and data center infrastructure, and is currently building multiple data center campuses to meet the continuously growing demand for AI computing power. At the same time, SB Energy has also received investment from OpenAI, and multiple sources of capital are rapidly pouring into the AI infrastructure sector.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Nvidia has adjusted its support plan for OpenAI's Ohio data center project. Previously, the guarantee size under discussion was $250 billion; now, the initial guarantee amount is expected to be reduced to within $120 billion. This adjustment may reflect a reassessment of project risks and the market environment.
Despite the reduced guarantee scale, if the cooperation is successfully implemented, it will significantly enhance OpenAI's computing capabilities and further consolidate Nvidia's dominant position in the AI chip market. For SB Energy, Nvidia's investment and IPO plans will provide critical funding for its large-scale data center construction. In the future, as AI applications continue to expand, similar tripartite cooperation models may become the industry norm.
