Neoclouds—companies that rent data-center computing capacity to AI labs—face an uncertain financial outlook. Elon Musk believes many could go bankrupt over the medium term, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expects demand for computing services to sustain the business.
The sector has benefited from the rapid expansion of AI and the construction of data centers. Some companies are already reporting substantial revenue: Nebius said it brought in $582 million in the second quarter of 2026, with an annualized revenue run rate of $3 billion at the end of June. CoreWeave reported $2.575 billion in revenue for the same quarter, more than twice its total a year earlier.
AI companies have also made large capacity commitments. OpenAI, Thinking Machines Lab, Perplexity and Cognition have contracted for more than $140 billion in computing capacity from Crusoe, according to the source material.
Musk’s concern is that companies focused on renting AI infrastructure may struggle to raise the money needed to keep expanding. He has pointed to SpaceX’s ability to raise $40 billion in debt to buy AI chips, citing its credit rating and multiple sources of revenue.
Huang, by contrast, says financing difficulties facing some neoclouds are temporary. He argues that strong demand for computing will lead to new ways of funding the infrastructure. Nvidia announced an agreement on August 10 with six financial institutions, including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Blackstone, intended to mobilize more than $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.
The outlook remains unsettled: investors have reacted negatively to concerns that these companies’ debt could become unsustainable. The source material identifies 2027 as a potentially decisive year for the sector.
Sources: Xataka.