Nvidia is in talks to invest roughly $3 billion in SB Energy, the SoftBank Group renewable-power arm, as part of a broader arrangement to support a planned artificial intelligence data center campus in Ohio, according to a report from The Information.
The proposed investment is tied to negotiations between Nvidia, OpenAI and SB Energy over providing credit support for the Ohio project, one of a growing number of large-scale computing facilities being built to meet surging demand for AI infrastructure.
SB Energy, which develops and operates renewable and battery-storage projects, would play a role in powering the campus, a critical concern as AI data centers strain electricity grids and require reliable, large-volume energy supply.
The talks form part of Nvidia’s deepening web of financial commitments across the AI ecosystem. The chipmaker has increasingly moved beyond selling processors to backstopping the capital and energy needs of the companies that buy them, positioning itself at the center of the infrastructure buildout driving demand for its hardware.
Nvidia has separately been discussing guarantees to underpin financing for the same Ohio development, underscoring how central the project has become to plans by OpenAI and its partners to expand computing capacity.
The strategy reflects a wider pattern in which Nvidia’s balance sheet is used to accelerate projects that ultimately consume its chips. Such arrangements help ensure that ambitious data center plans can secure funding and power at a time when both are in short supply.
Energy availability has emerged as one of the primary constraints on AI expansion. Data center operators are competing for grid connections, long-term power contracts and renewable capacity, prompting technology firms to strike deals directly with energy developers.
Neither Nvidia, OpenAI nor SoftBank has publicly confirmed the details of the discussions, and the terms could change or the talks could collapse before any agreement is finalized.
The reported investment would add to SoftBank’s expanding footprint in the AI space, where the Japanese conglomerate has committed significant capital alongside partners including OpenAI.
If completed, the deal would mark another step in the convergence of chipmakers, AI developers and energy providers as they race to build the physical foundations for next-generation computing.