Podcasts · Decoder with Nilay Patel
The company at the heart of the AI bubble
· 38 min
Episode The company at the heart of the AI bubble
So a lot of people think AI is a bubble. So we sent Verge senior reporter Liz Lopatto out to report on the AI bubble — whether it's real, how it might pop, and what all of this means. She’s joining the show today to talk about a particular company that sits right in the middle of all of it. That company is called CoreWeave, and Liz has spent considerable time diving into its history, its financials, and the truly fascinating story that all of that tells us about the modern AI boom.
Links:
• CoreWeave CEO plays down concerns about AI-spending bubble | WSJ • Why debt funding is ratcheting up the risks of the AI boom | NYT • Inside the data centers that train AI and drain the electrical grid | The New Yorker • How a crypto miner transformed Into the multibillion-dollar backbone of AI | Wired • CoreWeave signs $14 billion AI infrastructure deal with Meta | Reuters • CoreWeave, Nvidia sign $6.3 billion cloud computing capacity order | Reuters • Nvidia turned CoreWeave into major player in AI years before saving its IPO | CNBC • CoreWeave inks $6.5 billion deal with OpenAI | CNBC • ‘Project Osprey:’ How Nvidia seeded CoreWeave’s rise | The Information • For this startup, Nvidia GPUs are currency | The Verge
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Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Links in the notes 12
- https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/coreweave-ceo-plays-down-concerns-about-ai-spending-bubble-5a21a6ee?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqdYtalahPiwz9s6YkU5HBEd6p3R8sNLuB5PZ_kesP4-0Av3JgRb5amkkxddVnU%3D&gaa_ts=6914a302&gaa_sig=LPF2HVP_S7Ddcx9tJje4nbY3JCO1RTCxmpeRkKJhD660TNZ-j2B-Fjrt1CZMoTL3tpbVjxGTpOorSx3zoBaMDw%3D%3D
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/technology/ai-data-centers-debt-risks.html
- https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/inside-the-data-centers-that-train-ai-and-drain-the-electrical-grid
- https://www.wired.com/story/coreweave-scrappy-cryptominer-multibillion-dollar-ai/
- https://www.reuters.com/technology/coreweave-signs-14-billion-ai-deal-with-meta-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-09-30/
- https://www.reuters.com/business/coreweave-nvidia-sign-63-billion-cloud-computing-capacity-order-2025-09-15/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/30/coreweaves-7-year-journey-to-ipo-wound-through-crypto-before-ai.html
- https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/25/coreweave-openai-6point5-billion-deal.html
- https://www.theinformation.com/articles/project-osprey-how-nvidia-seeded-coreweaves-rise
- https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/8/23824661/coreweave-nvidia-debt-gpu-ai-chips-collateral
- https://www.theverge.com/subscribe
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