Nvidia has firmly denied claims that it planned to invest $1 billion in a new “green” artificial-intelligence data center in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León, hours after Governor Samuel García publicly celebrated what he described as a landmark deal for the region.
The confusion began early Wednesday when García released a video message on social media announcing that Nvidia would build a data center focused on AI and powered by renewable energy. He appeared in the video flanked by people presented as Nvidia representatives, and he described the project as a major push that would place Nuevo León at the forefront of technological development in Latin America.
Within hours, Nvidia issued a statement to Reuters distancing itself entirely from the claim. The U.S. chipmaker said, “Nvidia does not have financial investment plans in Nuevo León.” The company added that its involvement in Latin America remains limited to collaboration projects, research, and talent-development programs — not capital investment.
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The governor’s office then shifted its position. Local media reported that García later clarified the announcement, acknowledging that the planned investment would actually come from CIPRE Holding, a Mexican group, and not from Nvidia. The proposed data center, according to officials, would use Nvidia technology but would not be funded by the company.
Nuevo León’s Subsecretary of Investment, Emmanuel Loo, offered a more direct explanation, saying the misunderstanding arose from the nature of Nvidia’s business model. He explained that the company sells the chips and systems that power data centers, but does not typically finance or build such facilities. Loo said: Nvidia “sells technology” to companies that operate data centers and is not the investor in the project being promoted by the state government.
The investment, which García originally pitched as a pillar of Nuevo León’s ambition to establish itself as a regional AI hub, is now described as driven by CIPRE Holding and AI-GDC, entities that plan to incorporate Nvidia’s hardware and software into the facility. State documents outlining the project explained that it is designed as a “green” data center that would rely on sustainable energy sources and advanced cooling systems to minimize environmental impact. Construction, according to the governor’s early brief, is expected to begin in 2026 and proceed through multiple phases, ending around 2030.
The episode has drawn attention not only to the state government’s aggressive push to attract tech-focused investment but also to the risks of premature public declarations in a highly scrutinized industry. The appearance of individuals identified as Nvidia representatives standing with García in the announcement video added to the confusion for observers, since Nvidia later declined to say who those individuals were or why they did not challenge the governor’s claims during the broadcast.
For Nuevo León, the project would still represent a significant undertaking even without direct Nvidia investment. The state recently created a new Subsecretariat for Investment, Innovation, and Artificial Intelligence to position itself as a center for AI research and advanced digital infrastructure. Officials argue that a data center capable of handling large-scale AI workloads would attract technology firms, research institutions, and specialized talent.
What remains unclear is whether the data center’s business model, financing, and rollout will proceed smoothly after the public correction. Questions linger over the exact role of Nvidia’s technology, the scale of the procurement, and whether the project can maintain momentum now that the state’s original announcement has been contradicted by the company at the center of the story.
For now, the official position is that Nuevo León will host a $1 billion green AI data center — but the money is coming from Mexican investors, not Nvidia, and the project will rely on Nvidia chips rather than Nvidia capital. Officials in the state say more details about the structure of the investment and the timeline of the project will be released as planning progresses.