Nvidia Weighs $3 Billion Investment in SoftBank’s SB Energy

Nvidia is negotiating a $3 billion investment in SB Energy, the power and infrastructure arm of SoftBank Group, as the chipmaker expands its financial reach into the physical energy supply chain.

The proposed equity injection is part of a broader negotiation involving Nvidia, SoftBank, and OpenAI regarding the funding and construction of a massive data center campus in Ohio. SB Energy is developing the planned 10-gigawatt facility, which OpenAI intends to lease to support its expanding artificial intelligence workloads.

If finalized, the investment would cement a notable shift in Nvidia’s strategy, moving the company from acting solely as a hardware supplier to taking an ownership stake in the power infrastructure required to run its silicon.

The talks were first reported over the weekend by The Information, citing sources familiar with the ongoing negotiations.

Structuring the Investment

According to current discussions, Nvidia would split its commitment into two phases. The company plans to invest the first $1.5 billion directly into SB Energy once the Ohio project agreements are formally signed.

The remaining $1.5 billion would be tied to SB Energy’s planned initial public offering. The SoftBank subsidiary quietly filed a confidential draft for a U.S. IPO earlier this year and is reportedly aiming to go public as soon as next month, with a target of raising at least $5 billion.

A direct investment from Nvidia would serve as a major endorsement for SB Energy as it approaches the public markets, signaling to prospective investors that the largest announced AI campus in the United States is financially backed by the industry’s dominant chip supplier. SB Energy, founded in 2019, has already raised over $1.8 billion from SoftBank, Ares Management, and OpenAI.

Nvidia and SoftBank have declined to comment publicly on the ongoing negotiations.

Scaling Back Broad Risk Exposure

The equity discussions coincide with an adjustment to Nvidia’s broader credit commitments.

In September 2025, Nvidia and OpenAI signed a memorandum of understanding to deploy 10 gigawatts of computing capacity. Under that initial framework, Nvidia floated the idea of providing up to $250 billion in credit support to guarantee the multi-phase buildout.

However, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Nvidia has since restructured those terms. The company is now expected to provide an initial financial guarantee of less than $120 billion for the first phase of the Ohio project, which will cover about five gigawatts of capacity.

Sources indicated the reduction was driven by internal concerns at Nvidia and unease among debt markets regarding the company’s exposure to risk. By stepping back from a quarter-trillion-dollar guarantee, Nvidia limits its downside while still providing enough credit support to give lenders confidence in the project, thereby lowering borrowing costs for the construction and leasing phases.

Under the revised structure, Nvidia retains the option to decide how it will help finance subsequent phases of the Ohio facility’s construction at a later date. OpenAI is currently finalizing a binding lease for the campus.

Securing the Power Layer

Nvidia’s interest in SB Energy is not an isolated move. As electricity demands for training and running large language models surge, grid access and power generation have emerged as primary bottlenecks for technology companies.

In response, Nvidia is deploying its capital to ensure these infrastructure bottlenecks do not slow the adoption of its hardware. The company recently agreed to a separate $3 billion commitment with Lancium, a Blackstone-backed power developer managing the Stargate campus in Abilene, Texas. That arrangement included a $2 billion equity check for roughly a 20% stake in Lancium, along with an additional $1 billion tied to specific developmental milestones.

These parallel investments highlight a clear pattern: Nvidia is buying into the power stack. By spreading equity investments across developers like SB Energy and Lancium, the chipmaker is attempting to secure the necessary energy capacity that its largest customers require to continue expanding their data center networks.

What Happens Next

The timeline for the final agreement remains fluid, though reports indicate that the restructured credit guarantee framework could be signed within the coming weeks.

Simultaneously, Nvidia remains in separate talks regarding how it will finance OpenAI’s actual hardware purchases over the lifetime of the Ohio project, an arrangement that could be worth up to $350 billion in future chip sales.

Attention will now shift to SB Energy’s impending public offering. If the SoftBank subsidiary proceeds with its IPO next month, Nvidia’s second $1.5 billion tranche will likely be formalized alongside the public listing, tying the chipmaker’s balance sheet even closer to the infrastructure that supports the current generation of artificial intelligence.