---
type: source-digest
topic: ai-data-center-unit-economics
status: active
created: 2026-07-05
updated: 2026-07-05
source_notes:
  - clippings/26-07-03  substack.com  CoreWeave Unit Economics, Margin Profile, and Leverage Analysis.md
  - clippings/26-07-04  youtube.com  The SpaceX IPO, Fable 5, AI Capex Update & Market Check w Gavin Baker, Andrew Fox & Clark Tang.md
derived_from:
  - gpt-researcher session research-c2d443210dce
confidence: medium
source_url:
---

# Core Source Digest

## Why This Matters

The revenue/GW and cost/GW model depends on a few load-bearing sources. This digest separates the sources that can carry article claims from sources that should only be used as triangulation.

## Key Takeaways

- CoreWeave 100MW model is the cleanest bottom-up base case: $12B/GW/year revenue, $27B/GW GPU capex, $10B-$13B/GW physical plant capex borne by the landlord, about $1.65B/GW/year rent, about $0.78B/GW/year power opex, and 20% unlevered IRR.
- CoreWeave, Core Scientific, and Applied Digital filings triangulate rent/hosting cost around $1.4B-$1.8B/GW/year.
- NVIDIA's earnings transcript gives a strong silicon anchor: Grace Blackwell content is around $30B/GW, plus or minus.
- Epoch AI gives an independent all-in TCO model: $38B/GW up-front capex, $0.9B/GW/year opex, and $8.5B/GW/year annualized TCO.
- BG2 provides the upside case, not the base case: SpaceX/xAI at $14B/GW/year, Anthropic at $22B-$23B/GW/year, Google at $50B/GW/year, and a possible terrestrial-to-orbital non-silicon cost compression.
- GPT Researcher widened the net but brought in several secondary sources. Those datapoints are preserved in the output table with lower source quality.

## Entities

- CoreWeave
- Core Scientific
- Applied Digital
- Nebius
- NVIDIA
- Epoch AI
- SpaceX
- xAI
- Anthropic
- Google

## Related Concepts

- Revenue per GW-year
- Silicon capex per GW
- Physical plant capex per GW
- Contract-backed infrastructure financing
- Deployment speed as cost variable

## Open Questions

- Recover the Altimeter/Atreides chart behind the BG2 claims.
- Determine exact active-power denominators for CoreWeave and Nebius at year-end 2026.
- Decide whether the article should include secondary cost ranges or keep them in appendix only.