CoreWeave CEO: Physical Infrastructure, Not Circular Economy, Drives AI Hardware Constraints

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: CoreWeave believes physical limits is what is slowing AI hardware delivery Original Link: Michael Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave, stated at the Fortune Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco that the so-called circular AI economy label does not accurately reflect industry dynamics.

Michael rejected claims that the current AI boom is driven by money circulating between the same companies rather than real demand. He emphasized that focusing on a circular model overlooks a critical global supply imbalance tied to hardware, energy, and infrastructure. “Circular is the incorrect way of looking at it,” Michael said. “It’s a lot of companies working to address an imbalance that is distorting the globe.”

Physical Bottlenecks Drive Hardware Delivery Constraints

“The primary constraint is a physical bottleneck associated with getting the most performant compute into the hands of the most cutting edge players,” Michael explained.

This pressure extends beyond cloud firms and chip suppliers. Michael shared insights from a conversation with a mining company executive about materials needed to build infrastructure. The mining executive revealed that supply chain strain reaches two levels deeper, affecting raw metals and copper used to support AI systems.

The mining executive called for cross-industry cooperation to increase output. “We need to work together as a group,” the executive stated. Michael noted that similar calls for collaboration from AI company leaders are often criticized as proof of a circular economy. “If I say that in the AI space, I get accused of being in a circular economy,” he said.

Regarding concerns about debt risk and customer exposure, Michael pointed to demand trends instead. He emphasized that the growth he observes is fast and aggressive, not fragile.

Strong Demand Sustains CoreWeave’s Position

Michael positioned CoreWeave at the center of rising demand due to its focus on parallel computing, which supports modern AI workloads. Requests from large technology firms continue without pause.

Since its IPO, CoreWeave’s stock has experienced volatility, but Michael highlighted that shares now trade near $90, compared with an IPO price of $40.

Regarding past reliance on Microsoft, which once accounted for 85% of company revenue, Michael noted that exposure has significantly decreased following active diversification. No single customer now represents more than 30% of the backlog.

Michael described the current phase as a macro super cycle driven by a shift from sequential to parallel computing, enabling access to far greater compute capacity. He emphasized that challenges in delivery remain tied to policy limits, physical infrastructure, and energy access. “The reasons that you have challenges in delivering that compute is because of policy, because of physical infrastructure, because of energy,” he concluded. “You do that by working together.”