CoreWeave's Next Act: Where the Growth Will Come From

CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) has become one of the fastest-growing companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure race. In just a few years, it has gone from a niche GPU cloud provider to a critical player powering the compute backbone for companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms. But as the AI boom enters its next phase, investors are asking: Where will CoreWeave's growth come from next?

Here are three essential levers that the company can pull to keep growth coming and help it evolve from a GPU supplier into a long-term AI infrastructure platform.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Capturing more workloads from existing customers

CoreWeave's most immediate growth opportunity lies in expanding workloads from the customers it already serves. Many of its largest clients -- including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta -- are scaling AI usage across training and inference at a staggering pace.

For CoreWeave, that means the potential to grow "inside" these accounts, even without adding new logos. Once the cloud company builds and configures GPU clusters for a client, scaling additional capacity becomes far more efficient. The infrastructure, tooling, and service integrations are already in place -- turning each existing customer into a multiyear growth engine.

This dynamic is evident in the company's revenue backlog, which hit $30.1 billion as of June 30, reflecting contracted compute commitments and multiyear take-or-pay agreements. Comparatively, revenue in that quarter was $1.2 billion, suggesting revenue will scale even faster in the future. In fact, the cloud company signed another agreement with OpenAI on Sept. 25, bringing the total contract value with the latter to $22.4 billion.

As AI workloads become larger and more continuous, CoreWeave is positioned to capture that compounding demand from the very customers driving the AI revolution. So far, that trend shows no signs of slowing.

2. Expanding into new industries and verticals

The second major growth vector comes from broadening CoreWeave's customer base beyond AI labs and hyperscalers. So far, much of its revenue has been concentrated in a handful of AI training workloads. But the next wave of adoption is coming from industries that are just beginning to deploy large-scale compute -- from financial modelling and pharmaceutical research to gaming, design, and industrial simulation.

As generative AI applications proliferate, more enterprises will need access to high-performance GPU clusters -- without building data centers from scratch. This AI compute is CoreWeave's sweet spot. Its model allows it to provision GPU compute on demand, with lower latency and often better price-performance ratios than the hyperscalers.

While most of CoreWeave's revenue still comes from AI labs and hyperscalers, it is also making progress in expanding into new verticals. For instance, it announced that it would acquire Monolith AI, a pioneer in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to solve complex physics and engineering challenges. This acquisition will allow CoreWeave to offer a full-stack platform for industrial and manufacturing enterprises.

If CoreWeave can replicate its success with OpenAI in just a few of these industries, the growth runway could extend for many years into the future.

3. Strengthening its moat through vertical integration

Another transformative pillar of CoreWeave's growth strategy is vertical integration -- controlling more of the physical and operational infrastructure that underpins its cloud.

The company's planned acquisition of Core Scientific, a large data-center and power operator, marks a significant step in that direction. The deal gives CoreWeave direct control over critical bottlenecks such as energy and data center capacity.

Owning this layer reduces dependency on third-party hosting providers and mitigates the risk of power shortages or cost spikes. It also allows CoreWeave to expand faster and with better long-term economics: Every dollar of capital expenditures (capex) spent now builds durable assets that can serve multiple generations of GPUs.

Beyond physical infrastructure, CoreWeave is investing in orchestration software and automation tools to maximize GPU utilization. By controlling both the hardware and software layers, it can improve efficiency, reduce idle time, and ultimately enhance margins.

In short, vertical integration isn't just about scale, but also sustainability. It gives CoreWeave the control and resilience it needs to keep growing through the next decade of AI expansion.

What does it mean for investors?

CoreWeave is riding on one of the biggest trends in decades -- and is smartly taking advantage of it. By deepening relationships with its anchor clients, expanding into new verticals, and owning more of the stack, CoreWeave is building a foundation that could support exponential revenue growth for years.

For investors, that makes CoreWeave a fascinating growth stock to watch -- and potentially, an investment opportunity.

Lawrence Nga has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.