Nvidia is negotiating to guarantee roughly $250 billion in financing for OpenAI's 10-gigawatt data center campus in Piketon, Ohio, a project that could exceed $500 billion when chips and full infrastructure costs are included and may involve a separate chip financing package of up to $350 billion. Power access is controlled by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Japan is funding the plant with a $33 billion investment, and the arrangement—framed by Jim Cramer as a government backstop—has drawn criticism for potentially creating circular financing that could set a template affecting fundraising, security and adoption of large AI and crypto infrastructure.

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In Brief

Jim Cramer says the US government backstops Nvidia's role in the AI race.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick controls power access for OpenAI's Ohio campus.
Nvidia is negotiating a $250 billion financing guarantee for OpenAI's data center.

Jim Cramer says Washington will not let Nvidia lose the artificial intelligence race to China. He frames the US government as a quiet backstop behind the chipmaker’s biggest bets.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick controls power access to a federal site in Ohio. Nvidia is negotiating a $250 billion guarantee there for OpenAI, tying the chipmaker to a government decision.

Nvidia’s Backstop Meets Washington’s Power Switch

Nvidia is in talks to guarantee roughly $250 billion in financing for OpenAI’s lease, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal covers a 10-gigawatt data center campus in Piketon, Ohio.

The site sits on decommissioned federal land. The full project, including chips, could exceed $500 billion.

Electricity for the campus flows from a natural gas plant that Japan is funding with a $33 billion investment. That investment is part of a recent US trade deal.

Lutnick decides which company gets access to that power. OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google have all approached him about the site.

Washington in Deep with Nvidia, Says Cramer

On Monday night’s episode of “Mad Money,” Cramer linked Nvidia’s financial strength to Washington’s stake in the outcome.

“They have the best balance sheet of any company in the world,” Cramer said. He added that the government is a “subtle backstop” so China does not win the AI race.

Nvidia’s cash and a government hand on the power switch make a powerful combination. That combination helps explain why Cramer still calls Nvidia a stock to own even as shares slide.

Not everyone agrees the setup is healthy. Investor Michael Burry has called the arrangement circular.

He argues Nvidia’s guarantees would fund OpenAI’s purchases of Nvidia’s own chips. Nvidia is discussing that separate chip financing package, which could reach $350 billion. OpenAI also lacks its own investment-grade credit rating, a gap that already caused other financing troubles this year.

The bigger question is what happens if Washington’s role in AI infrastructure becomes the industry’s financing template. That role already includes Jensen Huang’s open-model push and Nvidia’s new security alliance.

Read the article at BeInCrypto