Nvidia Invests $3 Billion in Power Provider Lancium Behind OpenAI's 'Stargate'
- Nvidia plans to invest up to $3 billion in Lancium, a power infrastructure developer backed by Blackstone.
- The initial investment of $2 billion will give Nvidia approximately a 20% equity stake in Lancium.
- If certain power-access milestones are met, Nvidia's ownership could increase to about 30% with an additional $1 billion investment.
- Lancium is the power provider for the OpenAI-Oracle AI campus project in Texas, known as 'Stargate'.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a suspension of new data center grid connection applications, which may affect Lancium's expansion timeline.
Nvidia is extending its reach into AI infrastructure by planning to invest up to $3 billion in Lancium, a power infrastructure developer backed by Blackstone. The investment is structured in two phases, with an initial $2 billion giving Nvidia a 20% equity stake, and a follow-on investment of $1 billion contingent on achieving specific power-access milestones.
Lancium is the power provider for the 'Stargate' AI campus being developed by OpenAI and Oracle in Abilene, Texas. The company has secured 4 gigawatts of power on the Texas grid, with an additional 15 gigawatts of projects pending grid connection approval.
The investment comes amid Nvidia's broader strategy to secure essential resources for its chip customers, as energy supply remains a critical bottleneck for AI data centers. However, a recent policy change by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to suspend new data center grid connection applications introduces uncertainty into Lancium's expansion plans.
英伟达向OpenAI的“星门”背后的电力供应商Lancium投资30亿美元
英伟达通过计划向电力基础设施开发商Lancium投资最多30亿美元，扩大其在AI基础设施中的影响力。投资分为两个阶段，首笔20亿美元将使英伟达获得20%的股权，后续10亿美元的投资则取决于达到特定的电力接入里程碑。
Lancium是由OpenAI和Oracle在德克萨斯州阿比林开发的“星门”AI校园的电力供应商。该公司已在德克萨斯州电网锁定了4吉瓦的电力，另外还有15吉瓦的项目正在等待电网连接批准。
这一投资是在英伟达更广泛的战略背景下进行的，旨在为其芯片客户确保必要的资源，因为能源供应仍然是AI数据中心的关键瓶颈。然而，德克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特最近下令暂停新的数据中心电网连接申请，这给Lancium的扩张计划带来了不确定性。