Nvidia is discussing a deal to co-sign billions of dollars in debt for Nscale’s planned AI data centre in West Virginia, The Information reported on Thursday. Bloomberg confirmed the report later that day. Nscale’s IPO filing states Anthropic has signed a $44.6 billion contract for the project’s first building alone. This arrangement would see the chipmaker guarantee a customer’s loans, highlighting the pressure on the industry to keep buildout plans afloat as investors worry about the scale of spending.
The agreement would help Nscale secure funding for electricity and construction costs at its West Virginia campus. Under a residual value guarantee, Nvidia would step in if Nscale defaulted on payments, temporarily take over the facility, and assist in finding a buyer and new tenant, The Information said.
Nvidia has previously supported cloud providers mostly through leases and chip purchases, not construction guarantees.
The situation is critical for Nscale, which seeks a public listing with a valuation of up to $35 billion despite growing doubts about its ability to deliver on ambitious projects.
Anthropic’s contract covers the first 460-megawatt building at the West Virginia site, 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.
Nscale has struggled to launch projects. The company had about 25,000 advanced AI chips running in August, a fraction of the nearly 500,000 it plans to deploy. Construction issues have plagued the West Virginia campus. Runoff from the site has flooded nearby homes more than once. In September, the project finally won state certification after months of negotiation.
Microsoft withdrew from a planned Nscale site in England this month after grid power availability was pushed into the 2030s.
Nvidia has been a major financial backer of the sector, extending roughly $170 billion in investments and credit support to neoclouds and large customers, The Information noted. 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, face pressure from investors. Shares of CoreWeave, Nebius, and IREN each fell more than 30% in October as of last week, CNBC reported.
The proposed guarantee would deepen Nvidia’s financial ties to Nscale while securing 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 arrive as Anthropic faces questions about how it will finance its own rapid expansion. The company filed to go public this week, but Blackstone warned investors that Anthropic may receive a below-investment-grade credit rating after its IPO. A junk rating would raise borrowing costs and could push Anthropic to rely on stronger partners to back its debt.
What it means
For people building or renting AI infrastructure, this deal shows how much risk is shifting onto chipmakers. Nvidia is effectively putting its own credit behind the construction of facilities that host its chips. This does not change how customers access the cloud or how Anthropic uses its own systems. It simply means the hardware supplier is taking on more financial responsibility to ensure the buildings get finished.
