Key Points
- Cloud startup CoreWeave signed a deal to provide Meta with up to $14.2 billion in AI computing power.
- The deal will give Meta access to Nvidia’s latest and most powerful AI chips.
- CoreWeave is a “neocloud” company that specializes in renting out high-end AI hardware.
- The deal helps CoreWeave diversify its business away from its main customer, Microsoft.
Cloud computing startup CoreWeave has signed a massive deal to supply Meta Platforms with up to $14.2 billion worth of computing power, a clear sign of the staggering costs involved in the global AI arms race. The agreement, which runs through 2031, will give the social media giant access to Nvidia’s latest and most powerful AI chips.
CoreWeave’s stock jumped nearly 16% on the news, while Meta’s shares dipped slightly. CoreWeave is part of a new breed of companies called “neoclouds” that specialize in renting access to high-end AI chips, which are in desperately short supply.
This deal is a huge win for CoreWeave, helping it diversify its business away from its biggest customer, Microsoft. It also comes just a week after the company signed another multi-billion-dollar deal with OpenAI, cementing its status as a key player in the AI infrastructure boom.
“They loved our infrastructure in earlier contracts and came back for more,” said CoreWeave’s CEO.
For Meta, the deal underscores its all-in bet on AI. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is investing billions in energy, computing power, and talent to compete with rivals such as Google and OpenAI. In April, Meta said its spending on AI infrastructure and data centers could reach as high as $72 billion this year alone.
