AI hyperscaler CoreWeave is buying its longtime server provider partner Core Scientific in a new vertical acquisition in the AI market. CoreWeave and Core Scientific were both cryptocurrency mining companies that pivoted to providing AI servers for rent as the tech hype machine shifted, with Core Scientific providing gradually more and more server space to CoreWeave over the last year.
CoreWeave is adding around 1.21 GW of gross power to its capacity with the acquisition of Core Scientific's assets and national data center footprint, and the company expects to be able to add another 1 GW or more to this gross power through expansion. The majority of this power draw comes from Core Scientific's Austin, TX, plant. Core Scientific was previously providing 840 gross MW of power to support CoreWeave’s HPC contracts through the rental agreement between the two companies.
"This acquisition accelerates our strategy to deploy AI and HPC workloads at scale," said CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator. "Owning this foundational layer of our platform will enhance our performance and expertise as we continue helping customers unleash AI’s full potential." Eliminating the overhead of leasing out the server space from Core Scientific is a major boon for CoreWeave, which was already fronting the cost of updating Core Scientific's outdated server space for compatibility with the bleeding edge of Nvidia's HPC products.
