CoreWeave, a prominent Nvidia-backed cloud computing startup, entered the public markets on March 28, 2025. The company had hoped for a splashy debut, but instead, it faced lukewarm investor interest. It priced its IPO at $40 per share—below the expected range of $42 to $46—and raised $1.5 billion. Despite a respectable $20 billion valuation, CoreWeave’s debut signaled a broader hesitation in the market toward infrastructure-heavy AI plays.
Background: What CoreWeave Does
CoreWeave builds and operates high-performance cloud infrastructure, specializing in workloads that traditional cloud providers struggle to optimize. The company focuses on GPU-intensive computing tasks such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, visual effects rendering, and scientific computing.
Founded in 2017 by former commodity traders, CoreWeave began as a crypto mining operation. But the team quickly pivoted to cloud computing when they saw a gap in the market. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud catered to general workloads, but they didn’t serve the high-performance, low-latency AI niche well. CoreWeave seized the opportunity and positioned itself as the go-to infrastructure provider for AI-focused companies.
Nvidia recognized this potential early. It invested heavily in CoreWeave and also supplied the company with cutting-edge GPUs. In return, Nvidia secured a long-term partner that could support the AI boom by offering scalable GPU cloud infrastructure.
The IPO Journey
CoreWeave filed confidentially for an IPO in late 2024. Bankers projected a valuation between $22 billion and $24 billion based on strong revenue growth and explosive demand in the AI space. As interest in generative AI surged, CoreWeave’s revenue followed suit. The company grew from $96 million in 2022 to over $600 million in 2024.
By early 2025, the company prepared to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CRWV.” Investors expected the IPO to test market appetite for AI infrastructure startups following a string of successful debuts in the software and AI tooling space.
However, as the roadshow progressed, CoreWeave encountered headwinds.
Why the IPO Fell Short
Several factors contributed to CoreWeave’s underwhelming IPO pricing.
First, market sentiment around AI infrastructure cooled. While interest in AI remained strong, investors began to favor leaner, software-first companies with higher margins. Infrastructure players like CoreWeave carry heavy capital expenditure requirements. They must constantly upgrade hardware, build data centers, and manage energy costs. This capital-intensive model scared off some growth-focused investors.
Second, the IPO market remained cautious overall. Investors had witnessed overhyped IPOs fail to perform post-listing in 2024. High-profile names like Instacart and Arm disappointed retail and institutional buyers alike. As a result, many approached CoreWeave’s IPO with skepticism.
Third, competitors like Lambda Labs and Voltage Cloud began offering similar services. While CoreWeave remained ahead in scale and reputation, the increasing competition suggested thinner margins in the future. Investors wanted proof of long-term defensibility—something CoreWeave still needed to demonstrate at IPO time.
Lastly, Nvidia’s deep involvement raised concerns. Although Nvidia provided invaluable support, some analysts worried about overreliance. If Nvidia tightened supply or shifted focus, CoreWeave could struggle to maintain its edge.
Financial Snapshot
At the time of the IPO, CoreWeave reported strong year-over-year revenue growth. It booked approximately $670 million in revenue for 2024, up from $230 million in 2023. Analysts expected revenue to cross $1 billion in 2025.
Gross margins hovered around 46%, higher than typical cloud infrastructure companies but still well below software businesses. Net losses narrowed in 2024 as the company achieved greater scale and operational efficiency.
CoreWeave planned to use the IPO proceeds to expand its data center footprint, acquire more GPUs, and invest in talent. It also intended to pay down some of its equipment leasing obligations.
Nvidia’s Role
Nvidia played a critical role in CoreWeave’s ascent. The chipmaker not only supplied high-end GPUs like the A100 and H100 but also acted as a strategic investor. Nvidia’s backing gave CoreWeave instant credibility and allowed it to bypass some of the hardware bottlenecks that plagued smaller rivals.
But that partnership also created perception risk. Investors feared that CoreWeave operated as a proxy arm of Nvidia rather than an independent enterprise. If Nvidia chose to divert support to other players or build its own infrastructure, CoreWeave could lose its strategic moat.
Still, CoreWeave’s executives maintained confidence. CEO Michael Intrator emphasized that the company already sourced chips from multiple vendors and planned to diversify its supply chain further in 2025.
Industry Context
CoreWeave went public in a landscape flooded with AI enthusiasm. Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere continued to raise capital at lofty valuations. Many startups and enterprises needed GPU access more than ever, driving up demand for compute infrastructure.
Traditional cloud providers like Amazon and Google began doubling down on custom chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia. This shift opened more space for alternative cloud vendors focused on Nvidia-based solutions. CoreWeave capitalized on this gap by offering flexible, fast, and GPU-optimized infrastructure tailored to AI startups and enterprise labs.
Still, questions remained about how long this demand would sustain. Infrastructure spend rises quickly in hype cycles, but long-term winners must show pricing power, retention, and technological differentiation.
Investor Reactions
Reactions to the IPO varied.
Some investors praised CoreWeave for maintaining discipline. By pricing below expectations, the company avoided a volatile first day of trading and allowed long-term investors to enter at a fair price. This strategy mirrored that of successful IPOs like Snowflake and Cloudflare, which prioritized stability over headlines.
Others criticized the move. They believed CoreWeave left money on the table and signaled weakness in AI demand. Traders pointed to recent pullbacks in AI-related ETFs and chip stocks as indicators of broader fatigue.
Shares opened flat and showed minimal movement during the first trading day. Volume remained light as institutional investors waited for earnings reports to validate growth expectations.
What Comes Next
CoreWeave now faces the challenge of delivering on its promises. It must expand quickly but wisely, maintain GPU supply without overpaying, and retain high-performance customers despite rising competition.
The company plans to build new data centers in Texas, Ohio, and Europe. It also wants to enter the financial services and healthcare sectors, which require secure, low-latency AI computing environments.
Internally, the company continues to invest in orchestration software and usage-based billing systems. These tools help customers optimize their workloads and could increase stickiness over time.
Final Thoughts
CoreWeave didn’t get the IPO it wanted, but it still made history. It became one of the few AI infrastructure companies to go public during a volatile period, raising significant capital and planting its flag in a high-stakes industry.
The company must now prove its long-term value—not through hype, but through execution. If it can deliver on scale, maintain customer trust, and reduce reliance on Nvidia, it might still become the AWS of the AI era.