Everyone's Watching Training Move. Inference Can't Follow.xAI built a 100,000-GPU cluster in Memphis in 122 days because the city had power and could deliver it fast. That choice marks a permanent split in AI compute into two machines that obey different laws of physics.Articles
17 articles
June 2026
Everyone's Watching Training Move. Inference Can't Follow.xAI built a 100,000-GPU cluster in Memphis in 122 days because the city had power and could deliver it fast. That choice marks a permanent split in AI compute into two machines that obey different laws of physics.
Everyone Is Counting GPUs. The Real Chokepoint Is a Laser DieThe AI scaling race is quietly being decided not by GPUs but by Indium Phosphide laser dies, a III-V crystal with 15-50% yields that no amount of capital can rush.
95% of AI Pilots Show No P&L Impact. Trust, Not Models, Is WhyGenerating an AI answer now costs fractions of a cent. Trusting it still costs human labor. That gap decides who captures value in enterprise AI.
The Credit Gate: When Power Scarcity Became a Balance-Sheet FilterPower scarcity has become a credit filter in the AI buildout. Landlords with energized land now demand investment-grade balance sheets, so cash-rich neoclouds end up holding GPUs they can't turn on.
Why the Revolt Against Nvidia Made Broadcom the Real Toll CollectorEvery hyperscaler tried to escape Nvidia's pricing power by building custom chips. They didn't tear down the toll road, they split it in two and handed the bigger booth to Broadcom.
OpenAI Isn't Building an Empire. It's a Panicked Tenant.Every AI giant owns an OS, a device, or a browser, except OpenAI. That single gap reframes its product blitz as a scramble for distribution it doesn't own.
January 2026
The Interconnection Moat: Why Energy Is AI's New Barrier to EntryThe grid interconnection queue has replaced chip allocation as AI's binding constraint. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are becoming energy companies because whoever controls the electrons controls the frontier.
The Supercharger Gambit: How Tesla Traded a Hardware Moat for Platform DominanceTesla's decision to open its Supercharger network wasn't generosity, it was a calculated platform play that transformed a hardware moat into an ecosystem that extracts value from every competitor vehicle on the road.
October 2025
Netflix Called Everyone's Bluff, And Rewrote the Rules of StreamingNetflix's password crackdown delivered record sign-ups and proved its utility status, but the second-order effects on Gen Z subscription habits, competitor viability, and streaming's business model may reshape the industry for a decade.
The Bank Multiple Trap: Why Winning at Fintech Sinks Your StockStarbucks holds $1.6 billion in customer float and effectively runs a mid-sized bank. The deeper truth: most companies back into banking defensively, and that crutch eventually caps their valuation.