Microsoft has reportedly struck a deal with former Ethereum miner CoreWeave to use the company’s cloud computing infrastructure to support services powered by artificial intelligence.
CNBC reported on June 1, citing “a person familiar with the matter,” that Microsoft could spend billions of dollars on a multi-year deal with CoreWeave.
One of CNBC’s sources claimed that the deal was signed earlier this year for Microsoft OpenAI’s widely popular ChatGPT chatbot.
In the rapid growth of AI technology over the past 12 months, Microsoft has rolled out several AI-powered services. A prime example of this is the GPT-4 integration with the web browsers Bing and Microsoft Edge, which the company recently pulled off the waiting list.
OpenAI also utilizes Microsoft’s own cloud computing infrastructure, Azure, to handle its enormous computing requirements.
CoreWeave started as an Ethereum miner in 2017, utilizing graphics processing units (GPUs) to validate transactions on Ethereum during its formative years as a proof-of-work blockchain.
The company focused on cloud GPU computing around 2019 after finding a hole in the market for competitively priced, scalable and diverse computing options (something traditional providers didn’t offer). started.
Notably, reports about a deal with Microsoft show that CoreWeave extended its $221 million Series B funding round from April to May 31, bringing the total to up to $421 million. It came out just a few days after it was announced.
The Series B was led by Magnetar Capital, with participation from longtime strategic partner NVIDIA.
The company said in April that the funding would be used to expand its cloud infrastructure, with a focus on a wide range of computational workloads such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, visual effects and rendering.
Related: Here’s how OpenAI plans to remove false information from ChatGPT:
Nick Carter, a Bitcoin advocate and general partner at Castle Island Ventures, commented on the deal with Microsoft via Twitter, highlighting the importance of the company’s industry transformation.
“People tease the ‘pivot from cryptocurrency to AI’, but CoreWeave went from mining ETH to computing AI using its own fleet and is now worth over $2 billion. ..one of the fastest growing companies in the world today.”
magazine: AI Eye: Earn 500% From ChatGPT Stock Tips? Bard Lean Left, $100 Million AI Meme Coin
