CoreWeave’s IPO filing highlights significant challenges in the AI infrastructure industry, particularly regarding the rapid depreciation of GPU hardware. The company, which has heavily invested in Nvidia’s H100 GPUs, faces potential risks as these expensive chips may become outdated faster than traditional data center equipment. The filing reveals that CoreWeave expects to depreciate its Hopper-based systems over just 2.5 years, significantly shorter than the typical 4-5 year lifecycle of data center hardware. This accelerated depreciation reflects concerns about the upcoming release of Nvidia’s more powerful Blackwell architecture and the rapid pace of AI hardware advancement. The company’s financial documents also show substantial dependence on Nvidia’s hardware, with over $1 billion spent on GPUs in 2023. CoreWeave’s situation exemplifies a broader industry challenge: balancing the need to provide cutting-edge AI infrastructure with the risk of rapid technological obsolescence. The filing suggests that AI infrastructure providers must carefully manage their hardware investments and pricing strategies to remain competitive as newer, more efficient GPU generations emerge. This development has implications for the entire AI infrastructure sector, as companies must factor in faster depreciation cycles when planning capital expenditures and determining service pricing.