Nvidia to Invest Up to $3 Billion in Lancium

Takes 20% stake, with plans for additional investment

Move aims to strengthen the AI data-center ecosystem

Nvidia is investing up to $3 billion in power-infrastructure developer Lancium, a move aimed at strengthening the power-grid backbone needed to run artificial intelligence data centers.

The Information reported on August 8 that Nvidia will spend $2 billion to acquire a 20% stake in Lancium. The chipmaker agreed to invest another $1 billion if Lancium meets conditions including power-grid interconnection targets. The deal values Lancium at about $10 billion, including its land holdings and power-interconnection portfolio.

Lancium is a privately held company that secures and develops sites and power infrastructure needed to build AI data centers. It is also participating in Stargate, the $500 billion data-center project being pursued by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank.

The investment underscores Nvidia's effort to build out the broader AI infrastructure ecosystem with the help of its strong cash generation. Land and grid access are essential for operating data centers equipped with Nvidia's graphics processing units. Owning a stake in Lancium gives Nvidia a stronger foothold in that infrastructure.

Nvidia last month also signed an agreement to lease a hyperscale data center being built by Hut 8 for as much as $50 billion over the long term. The facility has already secured power, which has become more difficult to obtain, and the deal appears aimed at helping customers secure computing capacity.

Kim In-yeop, Silicon Valley correspondent, Hankyung.com, inside@hankyung.com