Why Microsoft Plans to Pay $10 Billion to Its AI Rival?

A cloud computing startup has rapidly gained attention by offering specialized infrastructure for AI applications. It has even emerged as a major potential competitor to Microsoft Azure. However, Microsoft plans to invest $10 billion in buying its services by 2030. What interesting stories are behind this?

CoreWeave's Emergence as a Key Player

CoreWeave, founded in 2017 and based in Roseland, New Jersey, has become a strong player in the AI infrastructure field. Originally recognized for its significant role in Ethereum mining, CoreWeave has shifted its focus to offering GPU-based cloud infrastructure. This change meets the growing demand for AI and machine learning applications.

CoreWeave's business model centers around renting NVIDIA's AI chips through its data centers, which are optimized for high-performance computing tasks. As of 2024, the company operates 14 data centers, with plans to expand to 28 by the end of the year. CoreWeave has also quadrupled its workforce to over 550 employees, reflecting its aggressive scaling strategy. This expansion is indicative of CoreWeave's ambition to capture a larger share of the AI infrastructure market.