Nebius Says AI Computing Prices Are Rising as Investors Question Neocloud Debt
Nebius says demand for AI computing power is pushing prices higher even as CoreWeave's debt load spooks investors in the neocloud sector.
Nebius says AI computing prices are rising faster than expected, even while investors question whether neocloud companies can support the debt they took on to build data centers. Marc Boroditsky, chief revenue officer at Nebius, told CNBC his company isn't carrying debt the way CoreWeave is, and that price per megawatt, the rate these firms charge for computing capacity, keeps climbing. That is the tension right now. Demand for computing power looks strong enough to keep prices rising, but the market is nervous about how the buildout behind that demand got financed.
Why CoreWeave's Debt Is Spooking Investors
CoreWeave, one of the biggest neocloud players, saw the spread on its five year credit default swaps hit levels generally viewed as signs of distress, and its bond yields climbed too. That weighed on other neoclouds, Iren and Nebius included, whose stocks dropped sharply over the last month. Boroditsky's answer to that pressure was simple: Nebius is not carrying CoreWeave's debt load. He also said if Nebius brings its 2027 capacity online, it sells out, and the same demand dynamic could repeat in 2028.
Chase Lochmiller, CEO of Crusoe, backed up the pricing story. He said Crusoe is seeing higher prices today for A100 chips than it saw in 2020 or 2021, and higher prices for H100s than when they were first deployed in 2023, because the models running on that hardware have gotten more capable and are creating more value per chip.
What Rising Compute Prices Mean for Jobs, Small Business and Your Savings
For jobs, the risk is not demand, it is financing. Nebius ran an auction Tuesday that showed prices still climbing, which is a good sign for hiring and spending at the companies selling compute. But the CoreWeave credit default swap and bond moves show the market pricing in real risk that some of these buildouts were funded with more debt than the business can support. If that risk turns real, it is not just investors who get hurt, it is the people whose jobs depend on that spending continuing.
For small business owners, this matters because AI tools and cloud services you rely on run on this same infrastructure. If price per megawatt keeps rising the way Boroditsky and Lochmiller describe, that cost eventually shows up in what you pay to run AI powered software, not just in what Nebius and CoreWeave charge each other.
For livelihoods, a lot of people have exposure to this sector without realizing it. CoreWeave, Iren and Applied Digital all moved in premarket trading Wednesday after SpaceX reported its AI business revenue jumped ninefold to $7.56 billion, with CFO Bret Johnsen saying pricing is tracking slightly above the high end of the $30 to $50 per watt range. Swings like that move retirement accounts and index funds that hold these names, for better or worse, depending on which way the debt story breaks.
The Insurance Angle on Debt Funded Growth
In my insurance agency, renewals are where debt stress shows up first. A business that looks fine on paper can get a very different conversation from an underwriter once its credit profile weakens, higher premiums, tighter terms, sometimes reduced capacity. CoreWeave's credit default swap spread hitting distress levels is the same kind of signal an underwriter watches for. It does not mean the business fails, it means the cost of carrying that risk goes up for everyone connected to it, lenders, insurers and ultimately customers.
I saw a version of this when I managed shopping centers. Landlords who leveraged up fast to chase demand did fine as long as the demand held. The ones who got hurt were the ones who assumed the growth curve would never bend. Nebius and Crusoe are both betting the demand curve for AI computing keeps bending their way. Boroditsky and Lochmiller's numbers say it is, for now.
What to Watch For Next
Watch CoreWeave's credit default swap spread and bond yields, not just its stock price. That is the clearer signal of whether the debt behind this buildout is sustainable. If you run a small business that depends on AI tools, expect your costs to track price per megawatt over time, not just today's subscription price. And if you hold any of these neocloud stocks directly or through a fund, understand that the volatility you are seeing is a debt story layered on top of a demand story. The two can move in opposite directions.