The AI infrastructure company CoreWeave has officially filed for an IPO, aiming for a valuation of up to $35 billion after a year of explosive growth. From a cryptocurrency mining company, CoreWeave has transformed into a specialized cloud computing service provider for AI, seizing the booming trend of this technology.
From cryptocurrency mining to an 'AI machine'
#CoreWeave was founded in 2017 under the name Atlantic Crypto by three commodity traders Michael Intrator, Brian Venturo, and Brannin McBee. Initially, the company focused on mining Ethereum but decided to pivot to providing AI computing infrastructure in 2019.
This move has put CoreWeave in a favorable position as the AI wave surged with the emergence of ChatGPT in 2022. With a huge demand for computing power from AI companies, CoreWeave quickly expanded and attracted significant funding from investment funds.
Revenue growth of 737%, but a loss of nearly $900 million
According to the #IPO filing with the SEC, CoreWeave reported revenue of $1.9 billion in fiscal year 2024, up 737% compared to 2023. In the most recent quarter, the company reached $747.4 million in revenue, with a gross profit margin of 76% and operating profit of $112.7 million.
However, CoreWeave also reported a net loss of up to $863.4 million, mainly due to heavy investments in infrastructure and interest expenses from nearly $8 billion in debt.
In addition, the company currently has $15.1 billion in unexecuted contracts, indicating that projected revenue remains substantial in the future.
Concerns about GPU market risks
Even though it is at the peak of growth, CoreWeave still faces doubts about the sustainability of its business model. Jeffrey Emanuel, CEO of Pastel Network, warned on X that:
"CoreWeave is essentially just a pile of GPUs and servers in a few buildings, with contracts signed during a supply shortage. If the GPU market shifts to oversupply, revenue will drop significantly."
This risk is even more apparent as giants like Nvidia, Google, #Microsoft are ramping up their own AI production and infrastructure development.
The most important IPO in the technology sector in 2025?
CoreWeave has chosen Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan as the main underwriters for the IPO. If successful, this could become one of the most notable technology IPOs of 2025.
CEO Michael Intrator, who holds 38% of the voting power, has previously criticized major cloud providers like AWS for high pricing and limited computing resource options. CoreWeave bets on a strategy of providing flexible services and competitive pricing to dominate the market.
However, with massive debt and future challenges, can CoreWeave maintain its growth trajectory or will it struggle as the AI market enters a correction phase? This IPO will be a true test of CoreWeave's ambitions in the AI race.
