Nvidia, OpenAI, SoftBank to Build 8GW AI Factory on Nuclear Waste Site
新智元 · wechat · 2026-08-18
Nvidia, OpenAI, and SoftBank announced a joint venture to transform a Cold War-era uranium enrichment site in Ohio into the world's largest AI supercomputing factory. The campus is planned for 8 gigawatts of power, targeting 1.5 million GPUs—a scale equivalent to roughly 52 top-tier AI data centers.
- Deal Structure: SoftBank handles infrastructure (land, grid), OpenAI signs a 20-year take-or-pay lease, and Nvidia invests $1.5 billion with a 20-year credit guarantee.
- Strategic Logic: Jensen Huang identifies land, power, and facilities as the new AI bottlenecks, superseding chips. Nvidia is locking up scarce "powered land" to mandate the use of its chips for decades.
- Business Case: While facilities last 20 years, chips cycle every 2-3 years. Even if OpenAI exits, Nvidia can sublease to others, creating a durable moat of recurring revenue.
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