CoreWeave CEO: Inference More Than 50% of AI Workloads

Market Dynamics & Industry Trends - Demand is outpacing supply in the computing infrastructure space, particularly for parallelized computing, driven by the traction in artificial intelligence for both training new models and inference [1][3][4] - The industry is experiencing a systemic imbalance, leading to a planetary-scale buildout of computing infrastructure expected to support AI for the next 50 years [8][9][10] - Inference demand is continually increasing and now accounts for over 50% of compute usage, while training demand remains strong [12][13][28] - The newest GPU architectures are used for bleeding-edge training, with prior generations being utilized for inference, showing a generational shift in usage [15] Company Strategy & Business Model - The company focuses on delivering comprehensive supercomputer solutions, emphasizing that delivering 97% is insufficient [4][5] - The company is diversifying its client base beyond hyperscalers like Microsoft and penetrating additional layers of the enterprise space, including VFX and life sciences [16][17][18] - The company structures its business around long-term contracts to insulate from short-term spot price variance in computing [25] - The company has seen a 900 basis points (9%) decrease in the cost of capital in its latest delayed draw facility for non-investment grade clients [26] Operational Challenges & Infrastructure - The key bottleneck is the powered shell, encompassing building, cooling, and electricity distribution [5] - The company anticipates facing a cycle of shortages, moving from powered shell bottlenecks to silicon or networking shortages [6] - Hyperscale clients are extending and broadening their contractual relationships, indicating a broader effort to address the systemic imbalance [22][23]