NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) has set its sights on the power company behind OpenAI's "Interstellar Gateway," investing $3 billion directly.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) is delving into the foundational level of AI infrastructurepower supply. The chip giant plans to invest up to $3 billion in Lancium, a power infrastructure developer supported by Blackstone, to secure several gigawatts of power resources for its chip customers' data center projects. According to a report by the tech media outlet The Information on August 7, NVIDIA Corporation has agreed to invest $2 billion in Lancium, with a commitment to add another $1 billion once the developer achieves additional power access milestones. The initial $2 billion investment will grant NVIDIA Corporation approximately 20% equity in Lancium, which could increase to about 30% if the follow-up investment materializes. This transaction values Lancium at roughly $10 billion, including debt. The strategic intent of this investment targets the core bottleneck of AI data centers: energy. Lancium is the power infrastructure provider behind the "Star Gateway" AI park being developed by OpenAI and Oracle in Abilene, Texas, and has secured and developed 4 gigawatts of power on the Texas grid, with another 15 gigawatts in projects underway for future access. The report indicates that for NVIDIA Corporation, acquiring a stake in Lancium means preemptively securing scarce power resources for its vast chip customer base. Transaction structure: phased equity acquisition linked to power milestones According to reports, sources have revealed that NVIDIA Corporation's investment will be executed in two phases. The first $2 billion will directly acquire approximately 20% equity in Lancium; the release of the remaining $1 billion will be linked to specific thresholds that Lancium achieves within its parks, including completing grid access. At that point, NVIDIA Corporation's stake will increase to around 30%. It's important to note that this investment is purely an equity stake and does not involve credit guarantees for data center construction or leasing. Reports indicate that sources have mentioned NVIDIA Corporation is considering providing credit guarantees for other projects, including a large data center project in Ohio involving OpenAI and SoftBank, with a scale of 10 gigawatts. The Lancium transaction is the latest in NVIDIA Corporation's recent wave of major investments. According to The Information, in the quarter ending April this year, NVIDIA Corporation invested a total of $18.6 billion in private companies and infrastructure funds, exceeding the total investment amount for the entire previous year. So far this year, NVIDIA Corporation has issued $2 billion checks to cloud service providers CoreWeave and Nebius, and has completed investments in networking equipment companies Lumentum and Coherent, as well as semiconductor firm Marvell. This series of actions indicates that NVIDIA Corporation is accelerating its transformation from a chip seller to a core investor in the AI infrastructure ecosystem. Lancium's asset footprint: from "Star Gateway" to multiple Texas projects According to reports, the 4 gigawatts of secured electricity contracts by Lancium encompass several heavyweight projects: 1.2 gigawatts supply to the park being developed by OpenAI and Oracle in Abilene, which serves as the core computing node of the "Star Gateway" plan; 900 megawatts for partner Crusoe's new data center being built for Microsoft Corporation in Abilene; QTS Data Centers has recently signed for 1 gigawatt in Turkey, Texas; and Crusoe has another 1 gigawatt project under construction in Childress. Beyond secured assets, Lancium is also positioned in Texas with land capable of supporting 15 gigawatts of electricity, currently awaiting grid connection permits. The company is also laying the groundwork to develop more power land by 2035, poised to benefit from a proposed ultra-high voltage transmission network in Texas. Just before and after the announcement of the deal, a potential variable emerged. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on new data center grid connection applications this week, requiring relevant projects to undergo further review. This policy direction introduces uncertainty into Lancium's expansion timeframe. However, reports indicate that sources have pointed out that the 15 gigawatts of projects awaiting connections are in a relatively favorable positionthe cooperating electricity company, American Electric Power, has completed the necessary line studies for powering its parks, meaning these projects have a first-mover advantage in the approval processes. Additionally, this financing provides support for Lancium's capital market plans. According to reports, two informed sources revealed that Lancium is considering an IPO in 2027, which, if realized, will follow the listing pace of data center and infrastructure developers like Switch and CyrusOne. NVIDIA Corporation's stake not only provides ample funding to expand its business scale but also, to some extent, endorses its potential IPO. This article is reproduced from Wall Street Watch, GMTEight editor: Zhang Jinliang.