OpenAI signed on August 17 as the anchor tenant for the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio — an 8 IT-GW AI data center campus built on the decommissioned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a Cold War uranium enrichment site that operated 1960–2001. NVIDIA guaranteed up to $105 billion in lease obligations on OpenAI's behalf, filed in an SEC current report the same day.
Ownership and compute are split. SB Energy — SoftBank's data center and power infrastructure arm — builds and operates the physical campus. OpenAI leases for 20 years. NVIDIA is the exclusive compute provider, deploying its full-stack DSX platform (GPUs, CPUs, networking) across the entire site. NVIDIA also invested $1.5 billion directly in SB Energy, joining SoftBank and OpenAI as equity holders. The initial phase covers 4.25 IT-GW; NVIDIA holds an option on the remaining 3.75 IT-GW to reach 8 IT-GW total.
| Party | Role | Financial Commitment | Key Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Anchor tenant | 20-year lease | Leases entire 8 IT-GW campus from SB Energy |
| NVIDIA | Exclusive compute provider; lease guarantor | $105B lease guarantee; $1.5B equity in SB Energy | Full-stack DSX (GPUs, CPUs, networking); holds option on 3.75 IT-GW |
| SB Energy (SoftBank arm) | Developer & operator | Builds and operates campus; equity holder | Building 10+ GW of new generation to power campus |
| SoftBank | Co-equity holder | Equity in SB Energy | Parent of SB Energy; co-investor alongside NVIDIA |
| AEP Ohio | Transmission partner | $4.2B transmission project | 765-kV lines + 4 substations under dedicated data center rate |
| U.S. DOE | Infrastructure partner | — | Partners on on-site water system using uranium-era infrastructure |
The $105 billion guarantee is a residual-value guaranty, not prepayment. NVIDIA's exposure triggers only if OpenAI defaults or becomes insolvent. Upon trigger, NVIDIA can assume the lease, require SB Energy to relet, initiate a sale, allow termination, or defer for up to a year while covering project costs. Earlier reporting cited figures as high as $250 billion; the filed structure landed at $105 billion for the initial 4.25 IT-GW tranche.
SB Energy and SoftBank are building at least 10 GW of new generation — including 9.2 GW from natural gas plants — to power the campus directly, excluding utility ratepayers from the cost. A $4.2 billion transmission project with AEP Ohio adds 765-kilovolt lines and four substations under a dedicated data center rate. Capacity phases online beginning 2028. OpenAI pays SB Energy only as completed capacity becomes available — deferring capital deployment while locking the 20-year commitment.
| Spec | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total campus IT capacity | 8 IT-GW | Target at full build-out |
| Initial phase capacity | 4.25 IT-GW | Covered by $105B NVIDIA guarantee |
| NVIDIA option (remaining) | 3.75 IT-GW | NVIDIA holds option to expand to full 8 IT-GW |
| New power generation | 10+ GW | SB Energy / SoftBank build; excludes utility ratepayers |
| Natural gas generation | 9.2 GW | Portion of new on-site generation |
| AEP Ohio transmission project | $4.2 billion | 765-kV lines; 4 new substations; dedicated data center rate |
| Capacity online (phase 1) | Beginning 2028 | OpenAI pays only as completed capacity becomes available |
| Lease term | 20 years | OpenAI as tenant; SB Energy as landlord-operator |
The campus uses closed-loop, air-cooled systems that recirculate water, with consumption expected comparable to an office building of equivalent headcount. The DOE is partnering on the on-site water system using the infrastructure footprint from the uranium enrichment era. Once site design finalizes, OpenAI will publish annual reports on water use, local hiring, and energy consumption.
Workforce buildout: 35,000 construction jobs through 2032, plus 2,500 long-term operating roles. SB Energy signed an MOU with North America's Building Trades Unions. OpenAI is adding $40 million to SB Energy's existing $40 million community fund — $80 million total for schools, workforce training, public safety, and affordable energy. Separately, OpenAI is extending $84 million in Codex credits to approximately 844,000 eligible Ohio college and technical school students at $100 per account.
| Commitment | Scale / Amount | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Construction jobs | 35,000 | Through 2032; MOU with North America's Building Trades Unions |
| Long-term operating roles | 2,500 | Permanent on-campus positions |
| SB Energy community fund (existing) | $40 million | Schools, workforce training, public safety, affordable energy |
| OpenAI addition to community fund | $40 million | Doubles SB Energy's existing fund |
| Total community fund | $80 million | Combined SB Energy + OpenAI contributions |
| OpenAI Codex credits (Ohio students) | $84 million | ~844,000 eligible college & technical school students at $100/account |
At 8 IT-GW with exclusive NVIDIA DSX stack, PORTS-Pike is a single-vendor, single-tenant AI factory foreclosing multi-cloud or substrate-switching options for its lifetime. Engineers planning inference roadmaps around OpenAI API availability post-2028 should account for the fact that marginal capacity underpinning future model generations will run on NVIDIA silicon under a 20-year contract with no alternative hardware path.