OpenAI has signed a 20-year lease for up to 8 gigawatts of AI compute capacity at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio, backed by Nvidia guarantees capped at $105 billion and a $1.5 billion investment in developer SB Energy.
Nvidia disclosed the arrangement on Aug. 17, 2026. The initial phase covers 4.25 gigawatts of IT load, with the first capacity expected in phases beginning in 2028. SB Energy will build, own and operate the infrastructure, while Nvidia will be the exclusive AI compute provider using its DSX AI factory platform, including GPUs, CPUs and networking equipment. The campus occupies the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and surrounding private and federal land in southern Ohio.
The company has secured land, power and building shells for the initial 4.25 GW and holds an option for the remaining 3.75 GW. Under separate residual-value guarantee agreements, Nvidia would pay only if OpenAI became insolvent or defaulted, with total obligations capped at $105 billion. OpenAI has agreed to reimburse and indemnify Nvidia for any guarantee payments. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said OpenAI, not Nvidia, will make the lease payments, and any unused capacity could be resold to cloud providers, enterprises, AI labs or startups.
SB Energy and SoftBank plan at least 10 gigawatts of new electricity generation to support 8 GW of IT capacity and will invest at least $4.2 billion in regional grid infrastructure with AEP Ohio. The partners said the arrangements should protect existing Ohio ratepayers. The project is expected to support about 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 and create roughly 2,500 permanent operating positions. An $80 million community benefits fund has been established, and OpenAI plans up to $84 million in Codex credits for Ohio students.
For crypto markets, the project illustrates rising AI competition for power and grid connections. The same infrastructure demand has increased interest in Bitcoin miners that already control powered land, including IREN, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark, Bitfarms, Bitdeer and Hive Digital. Several miners have been converting existing or planned sites into high-performance computing facilities that can serve AI customers as well as proof-of-work networks.
