Nvidia weighs playing the cosigner for Nscale’s AI data center in West Virginia

Nvidia is in talks to guarantee billions in debt financing for AI cloud provider Nscale’s planned Anthropic data center in West Virginia, The Information reported Thursday. Bloomberg later corroborated the report. Anthropic has signed a $44.6 billion contract for the project’s first building alone, according to Nscale’s IPO filing.

据《The Information》周四报道，英伟达（Nvidia）正在商谈为人工智能云服务商 Nscale 计划在西弗吉尼亚州建设的 Anthropic 数据中心提供数十亿美元的债务融资担保。彭博社随后证实了这一报道。根据 Nscale 的首次公开募股（IPO）文件，仅该项目的第一栋建筑，Anthropic 就已签署了一份价值 446 亿美元的合同。

In essence, the chipmaker would be co-signing a customer’s loans, a sign of how hard the AI industry is working to keep its buildout plans afloat as investors grow jittery about the amounts of money involved. The proposed arrangement would help Nscale secure financing for the electricity and construction costs of its West Virginia campus. Under what’s known as a residual value guarantee, Nvidia would step in if Nscale defaulted on construction payments, temporarily take over the facility, and help find a buyer and new tenant, according to The Information.

本质上，这家芯片制造商将为客户的贷款提供连带担保，这表明随着投资者对涉及的巨额资金感到不安，人工智能行业正竭尽全力维持其建设规划。拟议的安排将帮助 Nscale 获得其西弗吉尼亚州园区所需的电力和建设成本融资。据《The Information》报道，根据所谓的“残值担保”，如果 Nscale 在建设付款上违约，英伟达将介入，暂时接管该设施，并协助寻找买家和新租户。

Nvidia’s earlier support for cloud providers has mostly covered leases and chip purchases, not construction. The stakes are high for Nscale, which is seeking to go public at a valuation of up to $35 billion despite growing concerns about its ability to deliver on ambitious data center projects. Anthropic’s contract with Nscale covers the first 460-megawatt building at Nscale’s West Virginia campus, which is expected to use Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips. The companies are also discussing a second deal worth roughly $45 billion for another building.

英伟达此前对云服务商的支持主要涵盖租赁和芯片采购，而非建筑工程。对于 Nscale 而言，风险很高，尽管人们对其交付雄心勃勃的数据中心项目的能力日益担忧，但该公司仍寻求以高达 350 亿美元的估值上市。Anthropic 与 Nscale 的合同涵盖了 Nscale 西弗吉尼亚州园区的第一栋 460 兆瓦建筑，该建筑预计将使用英伟达的下一代 Vera Rubin 芯片。双方还在讨论另一栋价值约 450 亿美元的建筑的第二笔交易。

Nscale has struggled to get its projects off the ground. The company had about 25,000 advanced AI chips running in August, a fraction of the nearly 500,000 it plans to deploy. Its West Virginia campus has run into trouble of its own. Runoff from the construction site has flooded nearby homes more than once. In September, after months of negotiations, the project won state certification. This month, Microsoft pulled out of a planned Nscale site in England after grid power for it was pushed into the 2030s.

Nscale 在推进项目方面一直举步维艰。该公司 8 月份约有 25,000 块先进人工智能芯片在运行，仅为其计划部署的近 50 万块芯片的一小部分。其西弗吉尼亚州园区也遇到了自身的问题。施工现场的径流已不止一次淹没了附近的房屋。9 月，经过数月的谈判，该项目获得了州政府的认证。本月，由于电网供电时间被推迟到 2030 年代，微软退出了 Nscale 在英国的一个计划项目。

Nvidia has been a major financial backer of the sector, extending roughly $170 billion in investments and credit support to neoclouds and large customers, according to The Information. That includes $1 billion in convertible financing committed to Nscale in September. Neoclouds, which rent out AI computing power without a cash-rich core business behind them, have come under pressure from investors. Shares of CoreWeave, Nebius, and IREN had each fallen more than 30% in October as of last week, CNBC reported.

据《The Information》报道，英伟达一直是该行业的主要财务支持者，向新兴云服务商（neoclouds）和大型客户提供了约 1700 亿美元的投资和信贷支持。这包括 9 月份承诺给 Nscale 的 10 亿美元可转换融资。这些缺乏现金流核心业务支撑、仅靠出租人工智能算力的新兴云服务商正面临投资者的压力。据 CNBC 报道，截至上周，CoreWeave、Nebius 和 IREN 的股价在 10 月份均已下跌超过 30%。

The proposed guarantee would deepen Nvidia’s financial ties to Nscale while helping secure a major customer for its chips. Anthropic, one of the largest buyers of AI computing power, has spread its infrastructure spending across multiple chipmakers. One investor told The Information that Anthropic’s involvement likely explains Nvidia’s interest in keeping Nscale’s project on track. The discussions also come as Anthropic faces questions about how it will finance its own rapid expansion. The company filed to go public this week, but Blackstone has warned investors that Anthropic may receive a below-investment-grade credit rating after its IPO. A junk rating would raise Anthropic’s borrowing costs and could push it to keep relying on stronger partners to back its debt.

拟议的担保将加深英伟达与 Nscale 的财务联系，同时有助于为其芯片锁定一个大客户。作为人工智能算力最大的买家之一，Anthropic 已将其基础设施支出分散到多家芯片制造商。一位投资者告诉《The Information》，Anthropic 的参与很可能解释了英伟达为何有兴趣确保 Nscale 的项目顺利进行。此次讨论正值 Anthropic 面临如何为其自身快速扩张提供资金的质疑之际。该公司本周提交了上市申请，但黑石集团（Blackstone）已警告投资者，Anthropic 在 IPO 后可能会获得低于投资级的信用评级。垃圾评级将提高 Anthropic 的借贷成本，并可能迫使其继续依赖更强大的合作伙伴来为其债务提供支持。