CoreWeave

Q1 2026 HAS PRINTED — the first neocloud primary source in this KB. CoreWeave's Q1 2026 IR release (2026-05-07) gives the entity its first financials: revenue $2.08B, $99.4B revenue backlog, >3.5 GW contracted power (>1 GW active), Q1 capex $7.70B (~3.7× revenue), operating loss $(144)M, net loss $(740)M. See CoreWeave Q1 2026 Results. Note: Q2 2026 is not yet released (CoreWeave reports Q2 in mid-August) — the discovery brief's "Q2 10-Q" does not exist yet; this Q1 actual is the latest primary print.

Type: Company (CRWV) — Neocloud / independent AI cloud

CoreWeave is the largest independent AI cloud ("neocloud") — a GPU-operator that buys Nvidia accelerators at scale and rents them as compute, sitting between the chip vendor and the model builders. In the NVIDIA / DOE supply-chain map it is named in the Clouds/model builders tier alongside Akamai, Google Cloud, Lambda, Microsoft, Oracle, Together AI, and xAI — i.e. it is one of the operators turning the GB300 NVL72 buildout into rentable capacity. It is also the topic's flagged first deep-dive target: per the frontier, the next research step is /deep-dive CoreWeave → /thesis new, and Connor already holds a position.

The neocloud model is the central tradable debate the entity embodies, and the Q1 2026 print now puts real numbers on one side of it. $2.08B of quarterly revenue against $7.70B of quarterly capex and a $(740)M net loss is the empirical shape of frontier debate #2 — "do neoclouds earn their cost of capital, or is it a depreciation mirage?" The gap between the $(144)M operating loss and the $(740)M net loss (~$596M) is largely financing cost — the tell of a debt-funded GPU build. Whether it earns its cost of capital hinges on the GPU depreciation schedule, which the release does not disclose; and the anchor-customer concentration (Microsoft/OpenAI share) is likewise not disclosed. Those two undisclosed items are exactly what the deep-dive must resolve — the Q1 release is primary but promotional; the 10-Q is the fuller, audited filing (flagged as the next fetch).

Key Facts

Q1 2026 — Actuals (printed 2026-05-07; three months ended Mar-31-2026)

• Total revenue $2,078M (~$2.1B). Evidence: strong (first-party IR release) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)
• Operating loss $(144)M; net loss $(740)M — the ~$596M gap is largely financing cost (debt-funded GPU build). Evidence: strong (first-party) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)
• Q1 capex $7,695M (~$7.70B) — property, equipment, capitalized software; ~3.7× quarterly revenue, the build far outrunning current revenue. Evidence: strong (first-party) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)
• Revenue backlog $99.4B — the neocloud-layer demand number beside Oracle's $523B RPO and Alphabet's ~$462B cloud backlog. Evidence: strong (first-party) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)
• Contracted power >3.5 GW (>1 GW active). Evidence: strong (first-party) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)
• Named customers this quarter: Meta ($21B commitment), plus Anthropic, Cohere, Jane Street, Mistral. Evidence: strong (first-party) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)
• BACKLOG-DOUBLE-COUNTING EDGE: Meta's $21B commitment sits inside CoreWeave's $99.4B backlog while Meta is itself a tracked hyperscaler — the KB now holds both ends of one such edge (overlap not yet quantified). See Contracted Backlog & RPO. Evidence: moderate (first-party; both figures in the release) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)
• NOT disclosed in the release: GPU depreciation schedule, customer concentration (Microsoft/OpenAI share), backlog duration/cancellability, FY2026 capex/revenue guidance. Call-circulated figures (Q2 guide $2.45–2.6B, FY $12–13B rev, $31–35B FY capex) are call-sourced, not filing-grade. Evidence: n/a (gap / call-sourced) (CoreWeave Q1 2026)

Positioning

• Named in the NVIDIA supply-chain map under "Clouds/model builders" (with Akamai, Google Cloud, Lambda, Microsoft, Oracle, Together AI, xAI). Evidence: moderate (technical-report — NVIDIA) (NVIDIA — Building America's AI Infrastructure)
• Largest independent AI cloud (neocloud) and the topic's flagged first deep-dive target; Connor holds a position. Evidence: moderate (KB frontier — internal) (see wiki/frontier.md)
• Anchor-customer concentration is the key risk — and, per the Q1 print, still undisclosed. Evidence: moderate (KB frontier + confirmed gap on the primary)

Mentioned In

• Contracted Backlog & RPO — CoreWeave's $99.4B backlog is the neocloud layer of the "who pays the rent" question, and the site of the Meta double-counting edge
• Rack Power Density — CoreWeave operates the GB300 NVL72-class capacity this concept describes
• Hyperscaler Capex Cycle — neoclouds are the independent demand layer alongside the hyperscaler buyers
• Hyperscaler Buyers — the hyperscalers are both CoreWeave's competitors and (in cases) its customers

Outstanding Questions

• Do neoclouds earn their cost of capital, or is it a depreciation mirage? Now with real numbers on one side — $2.08B revenue against $7.70B capex and a $(740)M net loss — but the answer still hinges on the undisclosed GPU depreciation schedule. (Frontier debate #2 — the core deep-dive question.)
• How concentrated is CoreWeave's revenue by anchor customer? The Microsoft/OpenAI share is not disclosed in the Q1 release; the contract duration backstopping GPU depreciation is likewise absent. Both must come from the 10-Q / 10-K.
• How much of the $99.4B backlog overlaps demand already counted at the hyperscaler layer? Meta's $21B is one confirmed edge; the total inter-layer overlap is unquantified.
• What is CoreWeave's build cost per MW vs the hyperscalers it competes with? (Cross-check: >3.5 GW contracted × ~$59M/MW all-in implies >$200B eventual capex against a $99.4B revenue backlog — capex leads revenue by years.)
• Next action: ingest CoreWeave's Q1 2026 10-Q (depreciation life + concentration) now; the Q2 2026 print lands mid-August. Then /deep-dive CoreWeave → /thesis new for a tracked call.

Changelog

• 2026-06-24 — Created from 1 source (nvidia-doe-ai-infrastructure); financials flagged as a gap.
• 2026-07-23 — First neocloud primary folded in (CoreWeave Q1 2026 IR release): revenue $2.08B, $99.4B backlog, >3.5 GW contracted power, Q1 capex $7.70B, net loss $(740)M, Meta $21B commitment named. Confidence medium → high (primary filing). Recorded the Meta↔CoreWeave backlog-double-counting edge. GPU depreciation schedule + customer concentration remain undisclosed (kept open for the 10-Q / deep-dive). Q2 2026 not yet released (mid-Aug).