OpenAI to build world's biggest AI data center in Ohio
OpenAI announced plans for what could be the world's largest AI data center in Pike County, Ohio. This 8-gigawatt facility will be developed and operated by SB Energy, with Nvidia investing in the site. It is located on a former nuclear plant site, currently undergoing cleanup.
OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, has announced plans for a massive 8-gigawatt hyperscale data center in Pike County, Ohio. This facility, projected to be the world's largest AI data center, will be located at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus, approximately 100 miles east of Cincinnati. US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright highlighted the scale of the project during the campus's groundbreaking in March.
The chosen site, formerly the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a nuclear facility used during the Cold War, is currently undergoing cleanup from radioactive contamination. Despite its history, OpenAI stated in a press release that the site's size and existing infrastructure make it ideal for data center development. SB Energy, a Japanese-owned company specializing in AI infrastructure, owns the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus and will build and operate the data center, leasing space to OpenAI. Tech giant Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion into SB Energy, as the new center will exclusively host Nvidia's infrastructure.
This development marks a significant moment for Ohio, which is already a hub for hyperscale data centers. Meta is currently expanding its 1-gigawatt Prometheus AI data center in New Albany, Ohio, aiming to be the world's first gigawatt-capable data center. While data centers are crucial for powering AI and digital services, they face criticism for their high energy and resource consumption. Construction on the OpenAI project is expected to ramp up this year and continue through 2032, requiring years of permitting and thousands of jobs.