NVIDIA secures land, power and data centers

NVIDIA said on August 17 that it had secured land, power and shell capacity through a partnership with SB Energy at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio, to host NVIDIA compute for OpenAI. The disclosure gave documentary support to a claim that had circulated on X a day earlier, where users said the company was moving beyond chips to lock up the physical inputs needed for large AI buildouts. NVIDIA said SB Energy would build, own and operate the data center under a 20-year lease to OpenAI. The company also said it would provide credit support on the buildout to secure an initial 4.25 IT gigawatts, with an option on the remaining 3.75 IT gigawatts. ### Where did the “land, power and data centers” claim come from? X posts on September 2 by user Maksimoos said NVIDIA was securing land, power and data-center capacity as GPUs stopped being the main bottleneck in AI infrastructure. Those posts framed “powered land” as the next scarce asset in the sector. NVIDIA had already made a closely related statement in an August 17 blog post and press release, where it described land, power and shell as “the next critical resource for AI factories.” (sec.gov) Jensen Huang said in the company blog that AI factories require “advanced chips, packaging, memory and networking — as well as land, power and shell.” NVIDIA said it was applying the same supply-chain discipline it had used in semiconductors to secure land, power and shell capacity exclusively for NVIDIA AI factories. ### What exactly did NVIDIA secure in Ohio? (blogs.nvidia.com) PORTS-Pike is the clearest verified example. NVIDIA said the Ohio project would exclusively host NVIDIA AI compute and that OpenAI would be the customer for the 8-IT-gigawatt campus project. The company said it would invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy to support SB Energy’s growth and commitments tied to the site. (blogs.nvidia.com) SB Energy said it develops and operates gigawatt-scale data center campuses and utility-scale power assets. NVIDIA said the Ohio campus would create tens of thousands of jobs, pay for its power infrastructure and include an initial $80 million community benefits fund. (investor.nvidia.com) ### Did NVIDIA signal this shift before the Ohio announcement? NVIDIA’s annual report for the fiscal year ended January 25, 2026 said the availability of data centers, energy and capital to support AI infrastructure buildouts by customers and partners was crucial. The filing said shortages in those resources could affect future revenue and financial performance. (investor.nvidia.com) NVIDIA’s quarterly filing for the period ended July 26, 2026 went further. The company said securing land, power and shell for data centers was a critical phase in the AI infrastructure buildout and that it had entered arrangements to help select customers secure the land, power, shell and data-center capacity needed to support their growth. (sec.gov) ### How large is the business behind that buildout? NVIDIA reported on August 26 that second-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue reached $96.2 billion and that data center revenue was $89.0 billion, up 117% from a year earlier. Jensen Huang said in the earnings release that AI had reached an “inflection point” and was doing “useful work.” (sec.gov) February results showed the same segment at $62.3 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. Those figures help explain why NVIDIA has begun describing AI infrastructure in terms that extend beyond chips and servers to power, land and shell capacity. That description is NVIDIA’s own framing in public filings and company statements. (investor.nvidia.com) ### What should readers watch next? August 26 was NVIDIA’s latest earnings release, and August 17 was its latest disclosed infrastructure deal tied directly to land, power and shell capacity. Future details on similar arrangements are most likely to appear in SEC filings, investor releases and NVIDIA newsroom statements naming customers, locations and committed capacity. (investor.nvidia.com 1) (investor.nvidia.com 2)