Nvidia reportedly in talks to guarantee Nscale debt for the West Virginia campus built for Anthropic

Nvidia is negotiating to back billions of dollars of debt that Nscale needs to build its West Virginia data center campus, where Anthropic has reserved capacity, according to a report first published by The Information this week. Bloomberg later confirmed the talks, citing a person familiar with the matter. Neither company has announced anything: Nscale declined to comment to Bloomberg and Nvidia did not respond, according to The Next Web, which also notes the deal is unsigned and its terms could change.

What is on the table

The reported mechanism is a residual value guarantee. If Nscale failed to keep up with construction payments, Nvidia would step in, temporarily take control of the facility and help find a buyer and a new tenant, The Information reported. The guarantee would relate to the campus's first building, a 460-megawatt facility expected to run Nvidia's Vera Rubin chips. According to Nscale's IPO filing, cited by TechCrunch, Anthropic has signed a $44.6 billion contract for that building, and the two companies are discussing a second deal of roughly $45 billion for another one.

TechCrunch points out that Nvidia's earlier support for cloud providers has mostly taken the form of lease backstops and chip purchases rather than construction risk. The Information puts Nvidia's total investments and credit support for neoclouds and large customers at around $170 billion, including $1 billion in convertible financing committed to Nscale in September.

Why Nscale needs it

Nscale has not yet secured financing to build and equip the first building, and Anthropic can walk away if that financing misses a deadline, The Next Web reports, citing the Financial Times. The FT also reported that Nscale lost $1 billion on $141 million of revenue in the first half of 2026. The company is seeking a listing at a valuation of up to $35 billion, but the Wall Street Journal reported that backers, Nvidia included, have demanded tougher terms and that the IPO could slip to December.

The site itself has faced problems: state regulators briefly halted construction in September after runoff flooded nearby homes, according to records reviewed by the FT. A person close to Nscale attributed the flooding to extreme weather.

Open questions

The size of the guarantee and whether Anthropic's involvement was decisive remain unconfirmed. One investor told The Information that Anthropic's role probably explains Nvidia's interest in keeping the project on schedule. If signed, the arrangement would make Nvidia a backstop not only for chip demand but for the buildings that house its chips.