CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) is on track to become one of the top four players in the AI Cloud space, a market that could realistically grow even larger than the traditional Internet Cloud. Its ability to scale, move at a fast pace, and offer better product-price performance than other AI Cloud providers and hyperscalers gives it a strong competitive advantage.
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At least that’s the view of Roth Capital’s Rohit Kulkarni, an analyst ranked among the top 3% on Wall Street, who believes the company is “emerging as one of the most consequential yet controversial companies in the AI infrastructure stack, and arguably the best pure-play AI-native vehicle for investors looking to participate in the multi-trillion-dollar secular AI expansion over the next decade.”
Kulkarni’s investment thesis is built on several key strengths. CoreWeave, he argues, has emerged as the “leading AI-native” cloud platform purpose-built for model training and inference, backed by a staggering $56 billion revenue backlog. It has rapidly become one of the world’s largest deployers of Nvidia’s H100 GPUs and is already advancing beyond rivals with early moves into Blackwell GB200 and Ultra clusters.
Another differentiator is its unusually broad customer base – spanning hyperscalers, frontier labs, and enterprise adopters – with names like OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Stability, Mistral, xAI, and Inflection AI among its partners. CoreWeave also benefits from what Kulkarni describes as a “mutually reinforcing” strategic relationship with Nvidia, where the chipmaker is simultaneously an investor, supplier, and customer.
And unlike hyperscalers or frontier AI labs, CoreWeave doesn’t compete with its own clients. Instead, it operates as the “Switzerland of AI,” avoiding proprietary LLMs, custom silicon, or downstream monetization engines such as ads, commerce, or streaming – a neutrality Kulkarni believes could become one of its greatest long-term advantages.
Financially, CoreWeave follows a “success-based” CapEx approach supported by long-term, take-or-pay contracts, which reduce infrastructure risk and provide secure, recurring cash flows. GPU utilization is effectively 100% because customers pay fixed prices regardless of actual usage. In contrast to traditional GPU procurement, the company’s data center strategy relies on “speculative leasing based on predictive customer input.” CoreWeave aims to achieve investment-grade credit within three years and has already made notable improvements in both cost of capital and access to funding.
Kulkarni also points out that the company consistently outperforms hyperscaler and neocloud peers in data center metrics, is often first to market with new Nvidia GPUs, and plays a key role in the expanding AI ecosystem. Recent deals with OpenAI and Meta highlight strong demand from leading AI labs, while the growth of AI applications underscores the early-stage nature of “long-tail inference workloads.” Together, these factors demonstrate the “unique contract structure and AI-native product leadership.”
The stock has been on a wild ride since its late-March IPO, but currently sits 53% below its July peak. Considering the pullback and strong prospects, Kulkarni sees a “highly asymmetric risk/reward and minimal N-T execution risk on CRWV shares.”
Accordingly, Kulkarni initiated coverage of CRWV stock with a Buy rating and a $110 price target. The implication for investors? Upside of ~25% from current levels. (To watch Kulkarni’s track record, click here)
Elsewhere on the Street, the stock claims an additional 12 Buys, 11 Holds and 1 Sell, for a Moderate Buy consensus rating. At $146.65, the average price target factors in a 12-month gain of 66%. (See CRWV stock forecast)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.