CoreWeave’s initial public offering (IPO) on Friday was met with a lukewarm response, with the company’s stock priced at $40, below the expected range of $47-$50. The number of shares offered was also reduced, resulting in a total raise of $1.5 billion and a market cap of $14 billion on the first day of trading.

While the IPO did not quite meet expectations, with a hoped-for raise of over $3 billion and a higher valuation, CoreWeave still achieved the largest AI-related listing to date and the biggest U.S. tech IPO since 2021. The company’s shares opened at $39 and closed at $40, a relatively modest start.

Despite this, CoreWeave’s Chief Strategy Officer, Brian Venturo, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, stating that the company’s journey began when he and his colleagues had extra time on their hands after their previous venture went sour. They then explored the cryptocurrency space, starting with mining on a pool table in their Manhattan office.

Venturo recounted how their initial foray into crypto mining led to the acquisition of thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs), which were initially used for mining but later repurposed for artificial intelligence (AI) training. The company’s early success in crypto mining, where they became one of the largest Ethereum miners in the world, laid the foundation for their future endeavors in AI.

The team’s partnership with EleutherAI, an open-source group working on a large language model, marked a significant turning point for CoreWeave. By offering access to their GPUs, they gained valuable insights into AI training and were able to establish themselves as a key player in the industry.

Thousands of GPUs in a warehouse

As CoreWeave’s GPU empire expanded, they developed innovative automation and health-checking systems to optimize their performance. This expertise ultimately enabled them to transition into AI training, with their collaboration with EleutherAI serving as a springboard for the company’s growth.

The company’s good fortune continued as they attracted high-profile clients, including Stability AI and OpenAI. The latter, in particular, played a significant role in CoreWeave’s rise, with Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor and cloud provider at the time, becoming CoreWeave’s biggest customer.

Open source paves the way

Open source collaborations have been instrumental in CoreWeave’s success, with their work with EleutherAI and other open-source groups helping to establish their reputation and attract major clients. The company’s recent $12 billion deal with OpenAI is a testament to the significance of these relationships.

Today, CoreWeave boasts an impressive infrastructure, with 32 data centers and 250,000 GPUs, including Nvidia’s coveted Blackwell chips. Despite concerns over the company’s substantial debt, Venturo remains optimistic, citing the structured customer deals that will help cover the debt and the company’s considerable revenue and contracts.

Reflecting on CoreWeave’s journey, Venturo acknowledges the role of luck in their success, from their early days as crypto miners to their current status as a leader in AI training infrastructure. The company’s story serves as a reminder that even the most unlikely circumstances can lead to remarkable outcomes.

As CoreWeave continues to navigate the complexities of the AI industry, their unique blend of innovation, collaboration, and perseverance will likely remain essential to their future success.