SoftBank to invest $3 billion in Ohio factory for OpenAI data center, The Information reports

(Reuters) -SoftBank plans to invest up to $3 billion to overhaul an electric vehicle facility in Lordstown, Ohio, which ​will produce equipment for OpenAI’s forthcoming data centers after being remodeled,‌ The Information reported on Thursday.

The plant will manufacture equipment for data centers in Milam County, Texas,‌ and other locations, the report said, as the Japanese conglomerate goes all-in on the startup at the heart of the generative AI boom.

SoftBank, which sold its $5.8 billion stake in leading chipmaker Nvidia to bankroll CEO Masayoshi ⁠Son’s sweeping AI push ‌centered around ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, purchased the Lordstown site in August for $375 million.

OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank announced in September ‍plans for five U.S. AI data centers for the $500 billion Stargate project, a plan to build out a nationwide advanced AI network.

This investment is part of a broader ​joint venture announced at the White House in January, where SoftBank pledged $18 ‌billion, according to The Information.

The Ohio factory is building modular data centers, portable, pre-assembled units allowing for faster deployment and scalable capacity on site, The Information reported. The facility will include a small working data center as a demonstration model, according to the report.

Manufacturing of modular data center units is ⁠expected to start early next year, the ​report said.

SoftBank and OpenAI did not immediately respond to ​Reuters’ requests for comment.

On a livestream in October, Sam Altman said OpenAI aims to build 30 gigawatts of computing capacity at an ‍estimated cost of ⁠$1.4 trillion, and ultimately scale to adding about 1 gigawatt a week, even though current costs run above $40 billion per gigawatt.

Unlike rivals Meta ⁠and Google, OpenAI does not have an advertising or cloud services business to help cover the ‌cost of building out these data centers.

(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai ‌in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)