Nvidia invests $1.5 billion in SoftBank data‑center developer for OpenAI project
The chipmaker’s funding secures Nvidia GPUs for a new OpenAI‑backed data centre built by SoftBank’s infrastructure arm.
Nvidia announced a $1.5 billion investment in the data‑center developer owned by SoftBank, a move that ties the chipmaker’s GPUs directly to an upcoming OpenAI‑focused compute facility. The partnership aims to equip the new data centre with Nvidia’s latest AI‑accelerated processors, ensuring that OpenAI’s next generation of models runs on hardware the company designs and manufactures.
The infusion of capital will help SoftBank scale the physical infrastructure required for large‑scale AI training, from power and cooling systems to high‑density rack deployments. While the exact timeline for the data centre’s construction has not been disclosed, both parties indicated that the project is intended to address the growing demand for compute power that underpins generative‑AI services.
Industry analysts view the deal as a strategic alignment of two leaders in the AI ecosystem. Nvidia’s chips have become the de‑facto standard for training deep‑learning models, and securing a dedicated data‑center pipeline with OpenAI reduces the risk of supply‑chain bottlenecks. For SoftBank, the investment deepens its foothold in the AI‑infrastructure market, complementing its broader portfolio of technology assets.
The agreement also reflects a broader trend of chipmakers financing data‑center builds to lock in long‑term customers. By embedding its hardware at the core of the new facility, Nvidia not only guarantees a revenue stream but also gains early access to performance data that can inform future silicon designs. OpenAI, meanwhile, benefits from a purpose‑built environment optimized for its workloads, potentially accelerating research and product rollout.
Both companies declined to share detailed financial terms beyond the headline figure, and no specific locations for the data centre were announced. The collaboration underscores the increasingly intertwined nature of hardware, cloud infrastructure, and AI research as the sector races to meet escalating compute demands.
Original reporting: TechCrunch.