Section C · Industry frames

Business Model Taxonomy

Five distinct business models populate the neocloud landscape. Each has different economics, capital structure, customer profile, and strategic vulnerabilities. Understanding the taxonomy is essential to comparing companies meaningfully.

Marketplace

Examples: Vast.AI, TensorDock, RunPod Community Cloud.

  • Aggregates supply from independent providers.
  • Takes percentage on transactions.
  • Capital-light.
  • Customer base skews indie / cost-sensitive.
  • Strategic vulnerability: variable quality; can't serve enterprise compliance needs.

On-demand dedicated

Examples: Lambda Cloud, RunPod Secure Cloud, some Hyperbolic offerings.

  • Owns GPU hardware; rents at hourly rates.
  • Capital-intensive but bounded.
  • Customer base mid-market to enterprise.
  • Strategic vulnerability: utilization risk if demand softens.

Reserved capacity

Examples: CoreWeave (dominantly), Crusoe, Nebius, Lambda enterprise tier.

  • Multi-year customer commitments fund the capacity.
  • Capital-intensive; debt-financed.
  • Customer base enterprise to hyperscaler.
  • Strategic vulnerability: customer concentration; contract renewal risk.

Managed inference

Examples: Together.AI, Hyperbolic (inference side), Fireworks, Anyscale.

  • Per-token API access.
  • Software platform over GPU infrastructure (owned or partner).
  • Customer base developer / SaaS / enterprise inference.
  • Strategic vulnerability: commoditization pressure; hyperscaler absorption.

Energy arbitrage

Examples: Crusoe primarily; smaller energy-led plays.

  • Locate compute at stranded / cheap energy sources.
  • Energy-cost advantage is the structural moat.
  • Customer base enterprise / frontier-AI.
  • Strategic vulnerability: energy advantage scales finitely; ESG narrative tensions.

Hybrid / blended

Examples: RunPod (Community + Secure + Serverless), Hyperbolic (marketplace + inference).

  • Multiple business models under one roof.
  • Synergy claim: customer lifecycle value captured across models.
  • Strategic vulnerability: operational complexity; specialist competitors at each axis.

Takeaway

The taxonomy maps the strategic terrain. Most companies in the neocloud landscape can be located on this map; the differences in capital structure, customer profile, and risk follow from the business model class. The next chapter examines the hyperscaler-vs-neocloud dynamic that cuts across all categories.