OpenAI leases 10-gigawatt data center campus backed by Nvidia credit

This lease represents a significant escalation in the infrastructure requirements for generative AI, moving beyond traditional data centers to dedicated 10-gigawatt campuses. By securing long-term power and compute capacity, OpenAI and Nvidia are insulating their roadmap from the broader energy grid constraints currently slowing down cloud expansions. For the streaming ecosystem, this level of dedicated compute suggests a future where AI-driven personalization and real-time video synthesis will require industrial-scale energy solutions rather than standard server racks. Watch for SB Energy’s potential $50 billion IPO next month as a barometer for investor appetite in AI-specific utility infrastructure.

OpenAI's Ohio lease fits within the broader Stargate initiative, the $500 billion AI infrastructure program announced at the White House in January 2025. The Stargate Project was formed by SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX with plans to deploy $100 billion immediately, with SoftBank holding financial responsibility and OpenAI holding operational responsibility under chairman Masayoshi Son. The initial buildout began in Texas, with Oracle's Larry Ellison confirming that 10 data centers were already under construction at the time of the announcement.

The financial architecture behind Stargate has drawn both political endorsement and public skepticism. President Trump announced the venture at the White House on January 21, 2025, pledging to facilitate the project with emergency orders, while Elon Musk publicly challenged the funding claims on X, stating that SoftBank had "well under $10B secured." A source close to Stargate told the BBC the company was well-positioned to deploy the initial $100 billion tranche. The Ohio campus lease from SB Energy represents a concrete step in converting those pledged commitments into operational capacity.

Nvidia's role as both technology partner and capital provider in these AI infrastructure deals has intensified throughout 2025. Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI were named as key initial technology partners in the Stargate buildout, with Nvidia and Oracle collaborating closely alongside OpenAI to build and operate the computing systems. The $1.5 billion Nvidia investment in the Ohio campus mirrors a pattern where the chipmaker is increasingly financing the very infrastructure that consumes its GPUs, creating a vertically integrated demand loop that reduces reliance on traditional hyperscaler procurement cycles.