Section B · History

The 2022–2023 Inflection

November 2022 changed everything. ChatGPT's launch created an AI demand surge that the GPU supply chain wasn't ready for. H100 became the most scarce productive commodity in tech. The neocloud category coalesced in the wake.

ChatGPT launch

ChatGPT launched November 30, 2022. The product caught everyone — including OpenAI — off guard with how fast users adopted it. Within months, the AI demand picture had transformed:

  • Every enterprise was suddenly evaluating AI initiatives.
  • Every venture investor was suddenly funding AI startups.
  • Open-source models (Llama 1 in February 2023) accelerated experimentation.
  • GPU demand grew faster than supply could increase.

H100 shortage

NVIDIA's H100 (released 2022, ramping in 2023) became the supply-constrained commodity:

  • Per-chip prices reached $30k+ for end customers in the worst of the shortage.
  • Allocation became the determining factor for AI companies' compute access.
  • Lead times stretched to 6+ months.
  • NVIDIA's strategic decisions about allocation shaped which companies could grow.

Capital floods in

Venture and infrastructure capital flowed into GPU clouds during 2023-2024:

  • CoreWeave raised multi-billion dollars in equity and debt.
  • Crusoe raised large rounds at progressively higher valuations.
  • Lambda raised after years of bootstrapped operation.
  • Together.AI raised significant rounds.
  • RunPod, Hyperbolic, and others scaled.

The capital deployment accelerated supply growth but couldn't close the demand gap immediately.

Crypto-to-AI pivot

The Ethereum proof-of-stake transition (September 2022) eliminated a major GPU-mining demand. Crypto-mining fleets pivoted to AI compute:

  • CoreWeave (formerly Atlantic Crypto) had begun pivoting earlier and was positioned at the right moment.
  • Crusoe pivoted from Bitcoin mining to AI through 2022-2023.
  • TeraWulf, Applied Digital, Iris Energy and others did similar pivots at smaller scales.
  • Independent miners pivoted their gear to AI rental, much of it onto Vast and RunPod marketplaces.

CoreWeave's rebrand

CoreWeave's transition from "the crypto-mining company that does AI" to "the leading neocloud" happened over 2022-2024. The Microsoft deal was the moment it became publicly clear CoreWeave was now in a different commercial league than its peers.

Takeaway

The 2022-2023 inflection created the conditions for the neocloud category to emerge. The next chapter examines the 2024 shake-out where the tier hierarchy crystallized.