Nvidia is reportedly weighing a guarantee on several billion dollars of debt that would finance a West Virginia data center leased to Anthropic. The project, run by UK cloud provider Nscale, raises a central question: how far will a chipmaker go to support the demand it feeds?
🔑 En bref
- No deal has been signed. Talks concern a credit guarantee of roughly several billion dollars, and the exact amount has not been disclosed.
- The first building, a 460-megawatt facility, is covered by a signed Anthropic contract worth $44.6 billion over six years.
- Nvidia already holds a stake in Nscale and committed in September 2026 to provide $1 billion in convertible financing.
- Critics cite “circular financing,” while construction, grid and chip-cost risks remain high.
A guarantee under discussion, not a payout
The report first surfaced via The Information on Thursday and was corroborated by Bloomberg. Reuters, relayed by The Economic Times, also described the talks. Nothing has been signed. Reuters notes that “nothing has been signed,” that terms “could still change,” and that “the size of the guarantee has not been made public.” Nvidia, Nscale and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A credit guarantee is not the same as a payment. It would not mean several billion dollars flowing to Nscale today. Instead, Nvidia would promise lenders to cover all or part of the repayment if the borrower defaults. For the chipmaker, that would be a contingent liability, one that could sit off balance sheet unless triggered. The stated goal is to help Nscale finance the power infrastructure and construction of the campus.
The proposed mechanism: a residual value guarantee
According to The Information, the structure would take the form of a residual value guarantee, a protection on the asset’s end value. If Nscale defaults on construction payments, Nvidia would temporarily take control of the facility and help find a buyer or a new tenant. Public reporting does not clarify whether the arrangement includes a repayment guarantee, or whether Nvidia would cover the full loan or only part of it. No lender has been named.
| Item | Public status |
|---|---|
| Nvidia guarantee | Under discussion, amount undisclosed |
| Lenders | Not named |
| Share of loan covered | Unknown |
| Caps and exit conditions | Not public |
The public record therefore does not allow Nvidia’s actual exposure to be quantified. Nothing indicates the company has taken on the full construction debt, or that its commitment has already been called.
A $44.6 billion signed contract and a second deal in negotiation
The first building rests on a contract already signed. According to Nscale’s IPO prospectus, as cited by TechCrunch, Anthropic has signed a $44.6 billion contract for that building, which has a capacity of 460 megawatts. Reuters dates the agreement to August 2026 and describes it as roughly $45 billion of spending to rent compute capacity over six years. The building is slated to host Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips.
Two numbers, two statuses
Nscale and Anthropic are also negotiating a separate agreement of about $45 billion for a second building on the same campus. That extension is not signed. The gap between $44.6 billion and $45 billion is therefore a rounding difference, not a contradiction. The 460-megawatt references, however, vary. Reuters suggests a possible sale of about 460 megawatts for a value close to $45 billion, while hinting it could describe the same project. TechCrunch and Superpower Daily draw a clearer line between a signed first contract and a second deal still under discussion. No public information establishes that Anthropic has reserved 920 megawatts.
| Metric | Calculated value |
|---|---|
| Average annual spend | about $7.5 billion |
| Cost per megawatt over the term | about $97.8 million |
| Cost per megawatt per year | about $16.3 million |
These figures are calculations from an InvestingLive analysis, republished by The Economic Times. They assume, for illustration, that the $45 billion maps onto the 460 megawatts. They are not a published contract price, nor confirmation that both 460-megawatt references describe the same building.
“The participation of Anthropic probably explains Nvidia’s interest in keeping the Nscale project on track.”
Investor quoted by The Information
Financing committed before any revenue
The financing comes before the data center can generate revenue. Land, grid connections, substations, cooling and the building structure must all be funded before the first lease payments arrive. Chips are a separate cost line, and no reported source says the guarantee would cover their purchase. For lenders, the value of the guarantee is that it reduces risk tied both to the tenant’s strength and to the building’s value if it had to be taken back.
Timeline, grid and runoff
The West Virginia project has faced several setbacks. After months of negotiations, it received state certification in September 2026. Construction runoff has, however, repeatedly flooded neighboring homes. The timeline and power supply therefore remain sensitive points for lenders. Another Nscale site was also hit by grid constraints: this month, Microsoft withdrew from a UK site after electricity availability for the project was pushed into the 2030s. That exit does not involve the West Virginia campus, but it highlights the risks tied to power connections.
Nscale’s execution capacity
Nscale must also prove it can deliver at scale. It had about 25,000 advanced AI chips in service in August 2026, a fraction of the nearly 500,000 it plans to deploy. It is also seeking a public listing at a valuation of up to $35 billion, despite investor doubts about its ability to deliver its data centers.
Concentrated roles and a jittery market
That concentration feeds criticism of “circular financing,” according to InvestingLive. Nvidia would sell the chips used in the facility, hold a stake in Nscale, which will operate the site, and could also guarantee construction loans. Critics worry that backing a customer’s solvency could inflate hardware demand beyond what it would otherwise be. On the other side, Anthropic’s already-signed lease is cited as evidence of genuine demand.
The sector is also under pressure. According to CNBC, shares of CoreWeave, Nebius and IREN each fell more than 30% in October 2026, through the week before the announcement. These companies are among the “neoclouds” that rent computing power without a historical cash-generating business comparable to large technology groups. TechCrunch links the declines to growing investor unease about the sums committed to AI infrastructure projects.
Anthropic faces its own financing questions. It filed for an IPO that same week, though it is not yet listed, according to TechCrunch. Blackstone has warned investors that Anthropic could receive a sub-investment-grade credit rating after going public. Such a rating would raise the cost of its debt and could push it to keep relying on partners with stronger balance sheets.
Outlook and scenarios
The dossier should be read according to the status of each figure. The $44.6 billion contract for the first 460-megawatt building is signed. The second agreement, close to $45 billion, remains under discussion. Nvidia’s guarantees are still at the negotiation stage: their size, lenders, share of the loan covered, caps and exit conditions are not public.
Three scenarios merit tracking. In the first, the guarantee is finalized with clear caps, securing construction financing and strengthening the campus’s credibility. In the second, support is limited to a residual value protection, and risk concentrates on the power timeline and site execution. In the third, talks yield a reduced backstop or collapse, forcing Nscale to seek other lenders amid investor skepticism toward neoclouds. In every case, transparency on off-balance-sheet commitments remains the key watchpoint.
Sources
Cet article est publié à titre informatif et éducatif. Il ne constitue en aucun cas un conseil en investissement. Faites vos propres recherches (DYOR) avant toute décision.
