Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project

In Brief Posted: 8:16 AM PDT · August 17, 2026 Image Credits: Chesnot / Getty Images Tim De Chant Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project Nvidia said on Monday that it will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a data center linked to SoftBank and OpenAI. The investment ensures that Nvidia will be the sole supplier of compute infrastructure at OpenAI’s Ports-Pike data center near Cincinnati, Ohio. Nvidia will also provide up to $105 billion in credit to help build the facility, which could scale from an initial 4.25 gigawatts to 8 gigawatts in size, according to documents the company filed with the SEC. SB Energy’s existing investors include SoftBank and OpenAI. SoftBank had previously held $5.8 billion worth of Nvidia stock, which it sold in November to help fund other AI investments. The data center and power developer will build a 9.2 gigawatt natural gas power plant on the site, which is land owned by the U.S. Department of Energy. The site previously enriched uranium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal and for U.S. Navy submarines. The power plant is expected to cost $33 billion . The steep sum reflects the skyrocketing costs of building natural gas power plants, which have risen 66% in the last two years , according to BloombergNEF. By the time SB Energy’s power plant and others are completed, they’ll be competing for natural gas with export markets, a confluence that could triple natural gas prices in some parts of the country. Topics AI , data centers , nvidia , OpenAI , Softbank October 13 – 15 San Francisco Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you. Save up to $300 toda y! REGISTER NOW Newsletters See More Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news TechCrunch Daily News Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage. TechCrunch Mobility TechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight. Startups Weekly Startups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly. StrictlyVC Provides movers and shakers with the info they need to start their day. No newsletters selected. Subscribe By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . Related Apps WordPress.com targets the next generation of web creators with a free student plan Sarah Perez 60 minutes ago Transportation Uber adds Zipline drones to its Eats delivery network Sean O'Kane 3 hours ago Fundraising Wispr raises $280M at $2B valuation as it looks beyond dictation Ivan Mehta 3 hours ago Latest in AI In Brief Nvidia investing $1.5B in SoftBank data center developer behind OpenAI project Tim De Chant 39 minutes ago Fundraising Wispr raises $280M at $2B valuation as it looks beyond dictation Ivan Mehta 3 hours ago In Brief Stripe will reportedly acquire AI gateway startup OpenRouter for $7B+ Anthony Ha 19 hours ago