By Reuters | Updated: June 10, 2026
June 9 (Reuters) – OpenAI is in talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, in a deal that could include financial backing from Nvidia (NVDA.O), The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Here are some details:
- The campus could cost at least $500 billion to build, based on current prices for chips, labour, power and other inputs, the report said.
- OpenAI would control the equipment at the facility under a 20-year lease, with payments starting once operations begin; the first phase is expected in 2028, the report added.
- The facility, among the largest of its kind, would be developed by SB Energy, a unit of SoftBank (9984.T), opens new tab, on Department of Energy land in southern Ohio.
- Nvidia is expected to supply hardware in the facility and provide a financial guarantee for OpenAI’s lease and SB Energy’s financing, according to the report.
- Reuters could not immediately verify the report. OpenAI and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment outside regular business hours.
- Earlier this year, the ChatGPT maker paused its proposed ‘Stargate’ data centre project in the UK, citing regulatory hurdles and high energy costs.
- Separately, Apollo (APO.N), opens new tab and Blackstone (BX.N), opens new tab are financing a $35 billion AI capacity expansion for Anthropic using Broadcom (AVGO.O), opens new tab chips, Reuters reported this week.
Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Eileen Soreng
© Thomson Reuters 2026
