New Jersey-based CoreWeave, founded by ex-energy traders, secures $8.6 billion in funding to enhance AI computing services, shifting focus from crypto mining. The company collaborates with Nvidia to offer cutting-edge GPUs through tailored data centers, attracting investments from top firms like Magnetar Capital and planning significant expansion across Europe and the US.
CoreWeave, a New Jersey-based company founded in 2017 by former energy traders, has raised $8.6 billion in debt and equity over the past month, boosting its valuation to $19 billion. Initially started as a cryptocurrency miner, CoreWeave has shifted to providing specialized AI computing services in collaboration with Nvidia. CoreWeave offers access to Nvidia GPUs, including the highly sought-after H100 and the upcoming B200, through its data centers tailored for high-performance computing.
The company’s investors, including Magnetar Capital, Blackstone, and Coatue, are banking on the rising demand for AI services to transform the $500 billion cloud computing market. CoreWeave plans to invest $2.2 billion to build three data centers in Norway, Sweden, and Spain by the end of next year and has recently committed $1.3 billion for two facilities in the UK. Partnerships in the US include an agreement with Core Scientific to repurpose several data centers to host GPUs, with an offer to acquire Core Scientific for over $1 billion.
Unlike traditional cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure, CoreWeave focuses on clients with extreme high-performance computing needs, such as AI researchers and media groups. CEO Michael Intrator emphasized that Nvidia’s investment and expertise have been crucial in scaling the business and securing additional funding. CoreWeave aims to have 28 data centers across the US and Europe by the end of 2024, with ambitions for a global presence.
