Nvidia Expands SB Energy Bet to $3 Billion Ahead of IPO

SB Energy is assembling one of the most ambitious financing packages in AI infrastructure. Ahead of its planned U.S. listing, the SoftBank-backed data-center and renewable-power developer has drawn equity commitments from Nvidia, warrants for OpenAI, and a planned share sale to Japanese investors. The central feature is Nvidia’s dual role: hardware provider and financial backer, with substantial contingent credit exposure at SB Energy’s Ohio campus. 1217

Nvidia’s reported $3 billion commitment

Nvidia had already committed $1.5 billion in a private placement priced at SB Energy’s IPO price. Bloomberg later reported that Nvidia agreed to buy an additional $1.5 billion of new Class N non-voting shares at 90% of the eventual IPO price, taking its total reported backing to $3 billion. 12

That pricing matters. The second purchase gives Nvidia a 10% discount to the IPO price, while the first was disclosed as being at the IPO price. Both arrangements position Nvidia as a strategic investor ahead of a public offering whose final price and share count had not yet been disclosed. 12

The Ohio arrangement: Nvidia infrastructure, OpenAI as customer

The investment sits alongside a much larger commercial and credit-support arrangement at SB Energy’s PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio.

Nvidia said it will be the exclusive AI-compute infrastructure provider at the site. Its initial credit support covers land, power, and shell buildout for approximately 4.25 GW of IT load; Nvidia also has an option involving the campus’s remaining 3.75 GW. OpenAI is expected to be the customer for 8 GW of capacity under the arrangement. 19

Nvidia’s SEC filing describes the guarantees as credit support for SB Energy affiliates on behalf of an OpenAI affiliate. The guarantees become effective as relevant leases commence and increase across the project’s phases. 17

Why the $105 billion guarantee is not a $105 billion investment

Nvidia’s guarantees are capped at $105 billion, but this is not an equity investment in SB Energy. They are contingent obligations supporting land, power, and shell-buildout commitments associated with the Ohio leases. 1718

In practical terms, this support can make it easier for SB Energy to secure financing and build infrastructure before the campus is fully operational. It also means Nvidia could face exposure if the customer defaults on the covered lease obligations. The size of the cap underscores how much the structure depends on successful execution, long-term tenancy, and construction delivery. 17

What SB Energy is taking to public investors

SB Energy filed to list on Nasdaq under the ticker SBE, while remaining controlled by SoftBank, according to reporting on the registration.

The company reported approximately 8.8 GW-IT of contracted data-center capacity and about $439 billion of contracted backlog, including roughly $430 billion related to data centers. Of the contracted capacity, around 0.8 GW was under construction and about 8.0 GW was contracted but not yet under construction. 9

Those figures describe future contracted capacity, not facilities already producing data-center revenue. Reuters reported that SB Energy had no operational data centers at the time of its filing. 1

IPO size and valuation remain unconfirmed

SB Energy had not disclosed an IPO price range or the number of shares it intended to sell in its initial filing. Press reports said the company could seek $5 billion to $7 billion in proceeds and a valuation above $50 billion, but those are reported ambitions rather than finalized deal terms. 8

The developer also disclosed plans to sell up to $500 million in new shares to Japanese investors as part of the U.S. listing process. Reuters reported that the proceeds are intended for general operating costs tied to developing data centers, power generation, and related infrastructure.

OpenAI’s warrants add another layer of strategic support

OpenAI received warrants in SB Energy that Reuters, citing the Wall Street Journal, said were worth an estimated $5.5 billion. SB Energy’s SEC filing materials show that its predecessor issued a warrant to OpenAI Infra Holdings in January 2026, later amended to cover 3,991,809 common shares at an exercise price of $0.01 per share.

The warrants and the Ohio lease structure align OpenAI’s role as a prospective customer with SB Energy’s need to finance exceptionally large projects. They do not, however, remove construction, financing, or counterparty risk.

The key question for investors: contracted demand versus execution

SB Energy’s prospective valuation is built around contracted capacity, long-duration customer arrangements, and strategic support from SoftBank, Nvidia, and OpenAI—not established data-center operating cash flow. For the six months ended June 30, the company reported $138.7 million in revenue and a $3.21 billion net loss, compared with a $215.5 million loss in the prior-year period. 1

The result is an unusually leveraged infrastructure proposition: Nvidia is investing in SB Energy shares, supplying the AI-compute platform for a major campus, and providing credit support that is far larger than its direct equity check. The upside depends on converting contracted backlog into working, powered data centers; the risk is that most of the capacity and related economics still need to be built and delivered. 12917