AI infrastructure company CoreWeave has secured $7.5 billion in debt financing, following a $1.1 billion equity funding round. The debt round was led by Blackstone’s funds, with participation from Coatue, Carlyle, BlackRock, Magnetar, and others. This recent financing brings CoreWeave’s valuation to $19 billion.
CoreWeave, a key supplier of Nvidia’s AI chips, is gaining significant investor interest due to the high demand for AI technology. The company, with a workforce of 550, supplies essential hardware for running AI models, especially as industries rapidly adopt AI chatbots since the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022.
CoreWeave’s access to Nvidia’s highly sought-after AI-focused GPUs has positioned it as a crucial player in the cloud infrastructure market, competing with giants like Amazon and Google. The company claims on its website that it offers lower on-demand prices than any major cloud service provider. Microsoft, the second-largest cloud infrastructure provider globally, also leverages CoreWeave to meet OpenAI’s computing needs.
Nvidia’s CFO, Colette Kress, praised CoreWeave at a Citigroup event in September, highlighting the company’s quick adoption and efficient setup capabilities. A CoreWeave representative declined to confirm if Nvidia GPUs are being used as collateral for the new debt, although they were used in a $2.3 billion debt round last year, according to Reuters.
The funds from this debt financing will be utilized to acquire servers equipped with GPUs, along with networking equipment and cabinets, according to a CoreWeave spokesperson.
