CoreWeave turns to customer prepayments, shorter contracts to fund AI growth

CoreWeave is shifting its financing strategy to rely on customer prepayments, borrowing against specific contracts, and short-term deals with higher prices, in an effort to fund its growth and capitalize on the AI boom. The company reported $3.66 billion in revenue, up 168% from the year prior, but also posted a $709 million net loss and $846 million in quarterly interest expense. CoreWeave expects $9 billion in customer prepayments and deposits over the next three months, including $3 billion tied to new customer contracts for capacity that does not require additional hardware spending. The company is looking to capitalize on growing demand by signing shorter-term contracts with higher prices.