The relationship between Nvidia and the hyperscalers(超大规模云服务商)—cloud giants such as Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft—used to be(过去常常是) straightforward. Nvidia designed and supplied chips; the hyperscalers built data centres using them. For now, the two sides still need one another (see chart). Yet both are preparing for a future in which they lean on each other less.(但两者都在为一个彼此依赖减少的未来做准备。)
英伟达与超大规模云服务商——亚马逊、谷歌、Meta和微软等云巨头——之间的关系曾经很简单。英伟达设计并供应芯片，云服务商用这些芯片建设数据中心。目前，双方仍然相互需要（见图表）。但两者都在为一个彼此依赖减少的未来做准备。
A sign of impending(即将发生的) separation came on August 10th, when Nvidia announced a partnership with six of Wall Street’s biggest investors, including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, to “mobilise over(调动超过) $500bn” for ai infrastructure. The aim is to help customers, such as smaller ai labs and businesses that face steeper borrowing costs than Google or Microsoft, to find the vast sums needed to build data centres.(目的是帮助那些借贷成本更高的客户找到建设数据中心所需的巨额资金。) Under the plan, the consortium will raise pools of capital from institutional investors and lend it to Nvidia's customers at attractive rates to build infrastructure using Nvidia's gear. Infrastructure is expensive: a large data centre costs around $50bn. Most firms do not need anywhere near that scale, but the cost is steep(陡峭的；过高的) regardless.
8月10日，英伟达宣布与华尔街六家最大投资者（包括贝莱德和高盛）建立合作伙伴关系，为人工智能基础设施“调动超过5000亿美元”的资金，这预示着双方即将分道扬镳。此举旨在帮助那些借贷成本高于谷歌或微软的客户（如较小的人工智能实验室和企业）找到建设数据中心所需的巨额资金。根据该计划，该财团将从机构投资者那里筹集资金池，并以有吸引力的利率贷给英伟达的客户，用于使用英伟达设备建设基础设施。基础设施造价高昂：一个大型数据中心耗资约500亿美元。大多数公司并不需要接近这种规模，但成本无论如何都很高。
Nvidia's approach is to use compute as collateral(抵押品), allowing institutional investors to take part. One challenge is that processors have a shelf life(保质期，有效期), typically four to five years, which complicates valuing loans made against them. Another is what happens to the infrastructure if demand fails to materialise(实现，成为现实). Nvidia's response is to backstop as much as a quarter of a project's cost through a mechanism which keeps the company on the hook if the asset backing the loan falls below a certain value.(英伟达的回应是通过一种机制为项目成本提供高达四分之一的担保，如果支撑贷款的资产价值跌破某一水平，该公司将承担责任。) It is ingenious financial engineering from a firm better known for the technical kind.
英伟达的做法是将算力用作抵押品，让机构投资者得以参与。一个挑战是处理器有保质期，通常为四到五年，这使得以处理器为抵押的贷款估值变得复杂。另一个挑战是，如果需求未能实现，基础设施会怎样。英伟达的应对措施是，通过一种机制为项目成本提供高达四分之一的担保，如果支撑贷款的资产价值跌破某一水平，该公司将承担责任。这是一家以技术工程闻名的公司所展现出的巧妙金融工程。