The world of artificial intelligence is about to undergo a massive power transformation that could reshape our energy landscape. OpenAI and Nvidia are planning an ambitious $100 billion infrastructure project that would require an unprecedented amount of electricity, equivalent to the output of 10 nuclear reactors.

At the heart of this plan is a complex investment structure where Nvidia will invest heavily in OpenAI, and the startup will subsequently reinvest in Nvidia’s technology. According to Bryn Talkington from Requisite Capital Management, this circular investment strategy could be extremely beneficial for Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang.

The scale of this project is staggering. Building just one gigawatt of data center capacity could cost between $50 billion and $60 billion, with approximately $35 billion dedicated to Nvidia’s chips and systems. The proposed 10 gigawatt project might ultimately require an investment exceeding $500 billion.

To meet these enormous energy demands, tech companies are increasingly turning to nuclear power. Microsoft has already signed a 20-year agreement to restart the Three Mile Island reactor, while Amazon Web Services has purchased a data center adjacent to Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna nuclear plant.

The environmental implications are significant. The International Energy Agency estimates that global data centers currently consume roughly 1.5 percent of global electricity. OpenAI’s ambitious infrastructure expansion could dramatically increase this consumption, potentially pushing global data center electricity demand to 945 terawatt hours by 2030.

Interestingly, this isn’t just an isolated project. In Wyoming, officials have announced plans for an AI data center that could eventually consume more electricity than all homes in the state combined. OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has been exploring similar mega-sized datacenter deals for over a year, with previous reports suggesting he wanted five to seven data centers of 5 gigawatts each.

Practical challenges remain, including existing power grid limitations and utilities’ ability to keep pace with rapid AI expansion. As the tech industry continues to push technological boundaries, the energy sector will need to evolve dramatically to support these groundbreaking innovations.