Elon Musk has raised concerns about the timeline for a NVIDIA-supported data center project in Ohio, a facility designed to address OpenAI's expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure needs.
His comments came in response to reports that NVIDIA has agreed to provide guarantees of up to $105 billion to support OpenAI's lease of a massive data center being constructed by SoftBank Group's SB Energy in Pike County, Ohio. Musk took to X to voice his skepticism, stating that "the time required for this project to become operational will be far longer than they anticipate."
According to filings NVIDIA submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), its total payment obligation under the initial commitment is capped at $105 billion, subject to certain conditions being met.
These conditions include the data center meeting specific operational and delivery standards, with the first pledged payments expected to take effect starting in 2028. Additionally, NVIDIA plans to invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, following a combined $1 billion investment already made by OpenAI and SoftBank.
The Ohio campus is ultimately planned to support up to 8 gigawatts of power capacity, with an initial 800 megawatts of capacity targeted for completion and operation by 2028. OpenAI has agreed to lease the site for a 20-year term, while NVIDIA will serve as its exclusive chip supplier.
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