Nvidia’s Push Toward $750 Billion in AI Deals Revives Circular Financing Fears

13:45 · July 29, 2026

Nvidia is negotiating a fresh wave of financing arrangements that could bring its total commitments this year toward $750 billion, according to Bloomberg reporting, reigniting a debate that has followed the AI boom for over a year: whether Nvidia is effectively bankrolling demand for its own chips. Under discussion is support for up to $600 billion in OpenAI-related financing, split between roughly $250 billion tied to a 10-gigawatt Ohio data center being developed by SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary, and $350 billion earmarked for OpenAI’s chip purchases. That would come on top of more than $540 billion in deals Nvidia has already announced in 2026, including a roughly $500 billion tie-up with South Korea’s SK Group. Critics have long warned that this kind of arrangement, where Nvidia takes stakes in or extends credit to companies that then spend much of that money buying Nvidia chips, creates a circular flow of capital that can make underlying demand look stronger than it really is. The concern is not merely academic: if AI adoption or revenue growth ever falls short of the assumptions baked into these deals, the losses could compound across every company in the chain rather than staying contained to one balance sheet. Nvidia and OpenAI have not confirmed final terms, and negotiations remain in early stages.