The recent debut of CoreWeave on the public markets has grabbed headlines, but it's not just the IPO that’s causing a stir—it’s the story behind it. In a fresh episode of Bloomberg Technology, host Caroline Hyde sits down with key players to unpack the company’s journey, the pivotal role of its alliance with Nvidia, and what it all signals for the future of cloud infrastructure and AI-driven tech.
This blog explores that conversation, focusing on CoreWeave’s rise, the strategic decisions that fueled its growth, and what founders and investors alike can learn from the company’s trajectory.
The Rise of CoreWeave: From Niche to Noteworthy
CoreWeave didn’t start with Silicon Valley fanfare or VC buzz—it began in the often-overlooked space of specialized cloud infrastructure. Initially built to serve the needs of GPU-intensive workloads like visual effects rendering and AI training, CoreWeave carved out a niche where major players like AWS and Google Cloud were slower to pivot.
In the podcast, David Snyderman, Senior Managing Partner at Magnetar (CoreWeave’s largest equity holder), reflects on what made CoreWeave different. It wasn’t just the technology. It was the understanding that the GPU market—especially in the context of generative AI—was about to explode. And they were ready.
Snyderman underscores that Magnetar’s early belief in the vision of CoreWeave came from recognizing this very gap in the market. Where others saw a high-risk infrastructure play, Magnetar saw a future-proof business model.
Nvidia and the Power of Partnership
If CoreWeave had the vision, Nvidia brought the jet fuel. CEO Michael Intrator points to the relationship with Nvidia as a keystone in CoreWeave’s success. This wasn't just a customer-supplier relationship—it was a strategic alignment. Nvidia, already a dominant force in GPU computing, had much to gain by ensuring that partners like CoreWeave could scale rapidly.
The Nvidia-CoreWeave partnership demonstrates something essential in today’s tech world: ecosystems matter. As AI continues to evolve, the infrastructure to support it must be both flexible and robust. Nvidia, looking to ensure that developers have access to compute resources at scale, needed partners who could innovate fast and build fast. CoreWeave became one of those rare companies that could meet that challenge.
This partnership led to the rapid buildout of CoreWeave’s data center footprint and a customer base ready to buy in. It’s a reminder that while technology is the foundation, relationships are the architecture.
Timing Is Everything: The Strategic Path to IPO
Going public is a high-stakes move, and timing it wrong can be catastrophic. CoreWeave seems to have hit the market with the wind at its back.
Snyderman explains that the decision to list wasn’t made in a vacuum. It came on the heels of a surge in demand for GPU-powered cloud services, driven by the AI boom. As foundational models get larger and more compute-hungry, companies across sectors are scrambling for capacity. CoreWeave, having already built out a massive infrastructure and gained Nvidia’s blessing, was in prime position.
Their story is a case study in how to scale with intention. Instead of chasing headline-grabbing customer logos from day one, they built a stack that met real technical needs. When the AI wave hit, they weren’t scrambling—they were surfing.
Founders with Grit: The Long Journey Ventures Perspective
In the second half of the episode, Caroline Hyde shifts gears to talk to Lee Jacobs and Cyan Banister of Long Journey Ventures. Their commentary offers a refreshing look into what’s happening behind the scenes in venture capital.
Jacobs and Banister are known for investing in “weird” founders—those who don’t fit the stereotypical mold but have visionary, often contrarian, ideas. This ties back to the CoreWeave story in an important way. While not directly involved in CoreWeave’s funding, they highlight how bold ideas in overlooked markets often produce the strongest returns.
Banister’s observation that “non-consensus ideas held by high-integrity teams” are where the magic happens aligns perfectly with how CoreWeave emerged. The founders saw an unsexy infrastructure problem and built a solution the market didn’t realize it needed—until it really, really did.
Lessons for Entrepreneurs: What We Can Learn from CoreWeave
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Own Your Niche
CoreWeave didn’t try to be everything to everyone. They honed in on a market segment—GPU-based compute—and became the best at it. Focus and specialization are powerful in a world dominated by generalists. -
Strategic Partners Can Change the Game
The Nvidia relationship wasn’t a footnote—it was foundational. Founders should think about not just who they serve, but who they can align with to multiply their impact. -
Timing + Preparation = Leverage
You can’t time the market perfectly, but you can be prepared. CoreWeave’s infrastructure was ready before the AI boom, which let them capture demand instead of chase it. -
Non-traditional Doesn't Mean Non-viable
The Long Journey Ventures ethos is something every founder should internalize. Just because your startup isn’t sexy or mainstream doesn’t mean it’s not world-changing.
What CoreWeave’s IPO Tells Us About the Future
The IPO isn’t just a financial milestone—it’s a signal. Investors are hungry for exposure to infrastructure plays in the AI ecosystem. Companies that enable the builders—whether through cloud, chips, or dev tools—are increasingly being seen as the picks-and-shovels of the new gold rush.
It’s also a wake-up call for the big players. CoreWeave scaled fast, formed powerful alliances, and executed with precision. That kind of agility is hard to replicate inside legacy firms. And it suggests that more upstarts like CoreWeave are on the way.
From Underdog to Market Leader
CoreWeave’s journey is a reminder that some of the most transformative companies don’t start with the biggest headlines—they start with a clear problem and a relentless drive to solve it.
By building for a future most hadn’t envisioned yet, and by partnering smartly along the way, CoreWeave positioned itself not just to go public, but to lead.
In a world where AI is moving from research labs to everyday applications, the infrastructure that powers it is becoming as important as the algorithms themselves. CoreWeave got that before most—and now, the market is paying attention.
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