According to a report from The Information, Nvidia is evaluating a residual-value guarantee that could back billions of dollars in debt financing for Nscale’s planned AI data center in West Virginia. Bloomberg later confirmed the same information. The arrangement would position Nvidia as a co-signer on loans that fund construction and electricity costs for the facility.
Anthropic has signed a contract valued at $44.6 billion for the first 460-megawatt building on the West Virginia campus, as disclosed in Nscale’s IPO filing. The structure is slated to run Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin processors, and the parties are negotiating a second agreement estimated at roughly $45 billion for an additional building.
The proposed guarantee would require Nvidia to step in if Nscale defaults on construction payments, temporarily assume control of the site, and assist in locating a buyer or new tenant. This type of residual-value support differs from Nvidia’s earlier assistance to cloud providers, which has largely involved lease subsidies and chip purchase financing rather than direct construction backing.
Nscale is pursuing an initial public offering that could value the company at up to $35 billion, despite doubts about its capacity to deliver large-scale data center projects. In August the firm operated roughly 25,000 advanced AI chips, far short of the 500,000 units it intends to install. The West Virginia site has also faced local flooding from construction runoff, though it finally received state certification in September after prolonged negotiations.
Nvidia has already extended about $170 billion in investments and credit support to neocloud operators and major customers, according to The Information, including a $1 billion convertible financing commitment to Nscale made in September. The broader neocloud sector is under pressure, with shares of CoreWeave, Nebius and IREN each dropping more than 30 percent in October, as reported by CNBC. Microsoft recently withdrew from a planned Nscale facility in England after power-grid delays pushed connection dates into the 2030s.
Anthropic, one of the largest purchasers of AI compute, is spreading its infrastructure spending across several chipmakers. An investor quoted by The Information suggested that Anthropic’s involvement explains Nvidia’s willingness to back Nscale’s project. At the same time, Anthropic’s recent IPO filing has drawn caution from Blackstone, which warned that the company could receive a sub-investment-grade credit rating, potentially raising its borrowing costs and increasing reliance on partners like Nvidia.