Ohio is set to host one of the largest artificial intelligence computing projects in the country. On August 17, 2026, NVIDIA announced it will serve as the exclusive AI compute infrastructure provider for the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County. OpenAI will be the customer, leasing capacity under a long-term agreement with developer SB Energy. The campus sits in southern Ohio on a mix of private land and remediated property from the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a site once central to national energy efforts.
SB Energy, backed by SoftBank, will build, own, and operate the facility. OpenAI has secured approximately 8 gigawatts of IT capacity there through a 20-year lease. NVIDIA is backing the initial phase with credit support for land, power, and shell construction covering 4.25 gigawatts, and it holds an option on the remaining portion. This arrangement positions the site as a dedicated home for NVIDIA’s full-stack AI factory systems.
Those systems include GPUs, CPUs, networking, and related software. The first major tranche of capacity, about 800 megawatts, is expected to come online in 2028, largely drawing on existing regional power infrastructure. Later phases will require new generation and transmission. For Pike County and surrounding communities, the local impact stands out.
Project planners project 35,000 construction jobs over a six-year buildout running through 2032. Once operating, the campus is expected to support around 2,500 permanent positions. Those roles span electricians, maintenance technicians, facilities management, networking specialists, security, and other on-site work. Many of these jobs will go to people already living in southern Ohio, where economic opportunities have sometimes lagged behind other parts of the state.
Community investment forms another clear local benefit. SB Energy and OpenAI have together committed $80 million to a community benefits fund. The money will support priorities identified by residents, ranging from education and workforce training to local infrastructure and quality-of-life improvements. NVIDIA is also investing $1.5 billion directly in SB Energy to help the developer meet its commitments in the region.
Power reliability receives careful attention. SB Energy plans to develop roughly 10 gigawatts of new generation to match the campus needs and strengthen the broader grid. The company will fund grid upgrades and new transmission lines itself, an investment estimated at more than $4 billion through a partnership with AEP Ohio. Officials emphasize that Ohio ratepayers will not face higher bills from these improvements.
Instead, the region gains a more robust electricity system that can serve both the data center and everyday users. The project’s design leans toward long-term usefulness. NVIDIA’s involvement ensures the campus can host successive generations of AI systems. Each new generation could involve large numbers of advanced processors, allowing the site to stay current as technology advances.
OpenAI will only pay for completed capacity as it becomes available, tying payments to actual delivery rather than speculative timelines. Southern Ohio’s history with large industrial sites makes this transition notable. The former Portsmouth facility once supported national security and energy goals. Now the same ground is being prepared for advanced computing that powers everything from scientific research to everyday AI tools.
Local leaders have pointed to the chance for residents to gain skills in high-demand fields while the project brings outside investment into a rural area. Construction has already begun with early civil works. Full-scale building ramps up through 2026 and beyond. Permits, environmental reviews, and financing must still fall into place for later stages, yet the core agreements among NVIDIA, OpenAI, and SB Energy provide a firm foundation.
Beyond the immediate jobs and investment, the campus could anchor further growth. Training programs tied to the project may help workers move from construction into long-term operations or related industries. Suppliers and service businesses in the region stand to benefit from the steady demand for materials, maintenance, and support services. The closed-loop cooling approach planned for the facilities aims to limit water use, addressing a common concern with large data centers.
NVIDIA’s exclusive role means the entire AI compute stack at PORTS-Pike will run on its platform. That consistency can simplify operations and allow for coordinated upgrades over the 20-year lease term. OpenAI gains a major new source of computing power at a time when demand for training and running advanced models continues to climb. For Ohio, the project places the state firmly on the map of national AI infrastructure.
Pike County residents will watch the site transform from its industrial past into a modern technology hub. The combination of private investment, federal land partnership through the Department of Energy, and clear local commitments creates a model that other regions may study. Tens of thousands of construction workers will pass through the gates over the coming years. Thousands more will find steady employment once the campus reaches full operation.
The announcement arrives at a moment when states across the country compete for AI-related projects. Ohio’s offering includes available land, a cooperative utility partner, and a community ready for new opportunity. By securing NVIDIA as the exclusive infrastructure provider and OpenAI as the anchor customer, the PORTS-Pike campus moves from planning into reality. As the first servers come online in 2028, southern Ohio will begin contributing directly to the computing capacity that underpins the next wave of artificial intelligence.
The project’s scale, its focus on local jobs, and its careful approach to power and community support mark it as a significant development for the state. Residents of Pike County and neighboring areas now have a clear stake in one of the country’s largest AI infrastructure efforts.
