Meta Turns to Nuclear Power to Run AI | Bloomberg Technology 6/3/2025
>> FROM THE HEART OF WHERE INNOVATION, MONEY, AND POWER COLLIDE, IN SILICON VALLEY AND BEYOND, THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY" WITH CAROLINE HYDE AND ED LUDLOW. CAROLINE: LIVE FROM NEW YORK AND SAN FRANCISCO, THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." COMING UP, METEA GOES NUCLEAR AND BUYS NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY. ED: ELON MUSK SELLING $5 BILLION FROM HIS OWN AI STARTUP X AI WITH MORGAN STANLEY SHOPPING THAT DEBT. CAROLINE: WE SIT DOWN WITH THE FORMER TESLA EXECUTIVE OUT WITH HIS OWN STARTUP. BUT FIRST, ENERGY DICTATING TRADE.
LOOKING AT THE NASDAQ NOW UP 0.6%. THIS IS AS WE SEE THE JOBS NUMBERS JUST COMING IN SHOWING RESILIENCE FOR U.S. ECONOMIC GROWTH, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS ANXIETY AROUND THE GROWTH AND THE TARIFF IMPACT EARLIER TODAY.
BUT YOU ARE LOOKING UNDER THE HOOD. WHAT CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION? ED: THAT META NUCLEAR DEAL. CONSTELLATIONS APPLYING THE NUCLEAR ENERGY. ACTUALLY, REALLY MUTED GAINS RELATIVE TO THE JUMP PREMARKET WHEN THE DEAL WAS ANNOUNCED. 1121 MEGAWATTS OVER 20 YEARS. THIS IS NOT JUST A SIZABLE DEAL TO SECURE NUCLEAR ENERGY.
IT IS A BIGGER DEAL THAN MICROSOFT DID WITH CONSTELLATION. IT IS WORTH GETTING INTO THE DETAILS. CAROLINE: AND WE CAN. WE HAVE THE PERFECT PERSON. THE CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT. IT IS BIGGER THAN THE MICROSOFT PURCHASE WE HAD SEEN PREVIOUSLY, AND WHAT DOES IT ALLOW META TO DO IN TERMS OF FURTHER ENERGY COMING FOR AI FROM NUCLEAR IN THE FUTURE TOO? >> THE THING IS IT IS CLEAN. ALL OF THESE TECH COMPANIES
HAVE THESE REALLY AMBITIOUS CARBON FREE GOALS. WE WILL BE NET ZERO BY 2030, 2035, WHATEVER. IN THE LAST YEAR, THEIR POWER NEEDS HAVE CLIMBED AND GAINING SO MUCH ELECTRICITY FOR AI. POWER PLANTS TAKE A LONG TIME TO BUILD SO THEY ARE BACK TO GAS AND COAL AND THAT IS A THREAT TO THEIR GREEN GOALS SO BEING ABLE TO GET NUCLEAR IS A REAL WIN. ED: ON THE CONSTELLATION SIDE, THERE IS A LOT OF SIGNALS HERE OF COMMITMENT, UPGRADING AND UPDATING CAPACITY, POTENTIALLY BUILDING NEW CAPACITY.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN YOUR REPORTING ABOUT THIS COMPANY? WILL: YEAH, SO THAT IS REALLY EXCITING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY BIG NUCLEAR PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW. THE LAST ONE WAS THE PLANT IN GEORGIA. THEY FINISHED IT AND IT WAS KIND OF A DEBACLE.
IT WAS SEVEN YEARS LATE, BILLIONS OVER BUDGET, AND IT REALLY SCARE PEOPLE AWAY FROM WANTING TO DO THAT AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH THE REST OF THE COUNTRY WAS SAYING, PLEASE, BUILD AS BIG NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS. THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT SAYING THAT OUR COMPANIES LIKE CONSTELLATION THAT HAVE TO WRITE THE CHECKS FOR THESE POWER PLANTS SO IF THEY CAN LINE UP A CUSTOMER LIKE MICROSOFT, LIKE META, SOMEONE WHO WE -- WHO WILL BE WILLING TO HELP THEM OUT ON THE FINANCES, THAT WILL HELP THEM HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE ABOUT BUILDING A NEW PLANT, AND CONSTELLATION SAID EXACTLY THAT. THEY HAVE A PERMIT THAT GIVES THEM PERMISSION TO DO ANOTHER REACTOR AT THE SAME SITE IN ILLINOIS, SO THERE IS NOT VERY MANY PLACES THAT ALREADY HAVE THE PAPERWORK HANDLE.
SO CONSTELLATION'S CEO TOLD ME LAST WEEK THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT A. THEY ARE LOOKING AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPTIONS BUT SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING IT AND THAT IS SOMETHING WE HAVE NOT HEARD IN A WHILE. ED: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. LET'S EXPAND THE CONVERSATION AND TAKE A LOOK AT THE IMPACT OF THE DEAL FOR BOTH THE TECHNOLOGY AND NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY. JOINING US IS BRENT. I HAVE DONE THE MATH ON IT. BASICALLY, THIS DEAL BETWEEN CONSTELLATION AND META IS ABOUT 35% LARGER INTERNAL ENERGY TERMS ON CONSTANT CAPACITY BASIS THAN THE MICROSOFT DEAL, BUT IT IS WORTH PUTTING META AS AN OPERATOR OF DATA CENTERS INTO CONTEXT IS THE HYPERSCALERS.
WHAT DOES THAT MATH TELL YOU ABOUT META AND WHAT IT IS DOING HERE? >> META IS PLAYING BIG FOR THE AI GAME. THEY ARE GOING TO SPEND OVER $16.5 BILLION THIS YEAR IN CAPEX. THEY HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST
INCREASES IN TERMS OF ABSOLUTE DOLLARS SPENT ON CAPEX TO FUEL THIS AI GENERATION, SO THEY ARE A HUGE PLAYER ALONG WITH THE OTHER HYPERSCALERS, AMAZON AND MICROSOFT ARE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO SPEND MORE IN CAPEX, BY THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE IS THE HIGHEST AT -- BUT THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE IS THE HIGHEST AT META. WHAT THIS IS SIGNALING AS WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE AI ADOPTION CURVE. IF YOU WANT A BASEBALL ANALOGY, IT WILL BEGIN GAME ONE. THIS WILL BE A MULTI-DECADE TRANSFORMATION. I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE STATISTICS OF THIS TRANSACTION, IT IS A 20 YEAR DEAL WOULD PUT HIGHER-END ENERGY ACTION.
THEY ARE PAYING ACTUALLY MORE THAN THEY WOULD FOR OTHER ENERGY. THEY ARE NOT BUILDING THE DATA CENTER NEAR THE NUCLEAR PLANT. IT IS ALL VIRTUAL. AS YOUR OTHER PRESENTER MENTIONED, THIS IS AN OFFSET FROM A CARBON PERSPECTIVE, SO BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, AND I THINK THEY OBVIOUSLY WANT TO GET AS MUCH CAPACITY LOCKED UP AS THEY CAN BEFORE OTHERS GET TUESDAY CAPACITY AND ENERGY. THERE ARE MULTIPLE THINGS TO READ AND LOOK AT. FROM OUR SIDE, WE TALKED TO OUR ENERGY TEAM, AND THIS GOES TO THE LONGER END, THE LONGER TAIL. THEY WANT TO SAVE THIS FACILITY SO THIS OBVIOUSLY GIVES THEM THE CHANCE TO BASICALLY TAKE A FACILITY THAT MAYBE WAS GOING TO BE SHUT DOWN TO SAVING IT.
CAROLINE: HOW MUCH ANXIETY HAVE YOU HAD ABOUT ENERGY BEING THE BLOCKER HERE TO THESE HYPERSCALERS MEETING DEMAND? BRENT: MASSIVE. I AM A TECH GUY AND I WAS JUST TALKING TO OUR ENERGY TEAM BEFORE I GOT ON. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT AT THIS POINT WE WOULD ALL BE SCRAMBLING TO UNDERSTAND ENERGY, REAL ESTATE? THE BIGGEST BOTTLENECK TO POWERING AI RIGHT NOW ARE THE TRANSMISSION LINES FROM THE ENERGY COMPANIES TO THE DATA CENTERS.
WE HAVE BEEN TOLD BY MANY THAT ARE SOMETIMES TWO OR THREE YEARS BACKLOGGED, SO THEY CAN GET THINGS BUILT BUT THEY CANNOT FINISH THE LAST PIECE OF THIS BECAUSE THEIR LEADTIMES ARE SO LONG TO GET THE EQUIPMENT. AGAIN, MICROSOFT HAS SAID THIS TO US MANY TIMES. WHEN THEY SHOW UP EVERY DAY, IT IS LIKE THEY ARE ON FIRE THE WHOLE DAY WHERE THEY JUST CANNOT SIT STILL BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY MOVING PIECES TO MAKE THIS ALL WORK FOR US TO BASICALLY HIT ONE PROMPT BAR AND ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION. WHAT HOTEL SHOULD I STAY AT IN SAN FRANCISCO BASED ON THIS BUDGET? WHATEVER QUESTION YOU WANT TO ASK. YOU THINK ABOUT HOW SIMPLE THE QUESTIONS ARE, BUT WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN ON THE BACKEND IS SO COMPLEX. WE ARE LIVING WITH MASSIVE
ANXIETY EVEN COVERING THE SPACE, TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH IT. CAROLINE: IT IS FUNNY THAT IT FEELS BUT A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT THE ANXIETY WAS THEY WERE OVERBUILDING AND THE SUPPLY SIDE WAS JUST GETTING TOO MUCH. IS THAT A THING OF THE PAST? BRENT: A THING OF THE PAST. HERE IS THE PROBLEM. WE ARE DOING THIRD GRADE MATH. NOTHING AGAINST MY COMPETITORS BUT ALL OF MY COMPETITORS PUT OUT A DATA POINT ON A DATA CENTER FROM MICROSOFT ON HOLD. A WISCONSIN FACILITY IS NOT COMING LIVE. EVERYONE IS LIKE, AI IS OVER,
RUN FOR THE HILLS. THAT IS NOT WHAT IS HAPPENING. WHAT IS HAPPENING IS WE ARE DOING THIS EFFICIENTLY AND WILL MOVE PIECES AROUND. BUT AS MICROSOFT AND OTHERS HAVE SHOWN, THEY ARE MAKING MONEY AND THEY ARE GENERATING REVENUE GROWTH. SO IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT BLOWING MONEY AND NOT GENERATING A RETURN. IT IS BALANCED REVENUE GROWTH AND PROFITABILITY.
AND I THINK MAYBE THE COMPANIES WE COVER OUR SIGNALING THAT -- ARE SIGNALING THAT. THERE WILL BE PIECES THAT MOVE ALL OVER. SOMETIMES YOU CANNOT FIND THE TRANSMISSION LINES SO THEY HAVE TO MOVE CAPACITY TO OTHER DATA CENTERS. ED: RIGHT. BRENT: YEAH. IT IS A GIANT RUBIKS CUBE THAT IS SUPER SCRAMBLED, AND I AM NOT VERY GOOD AT RUBIKS CUBES. WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT. ED: NEITHER AM I TO BE FAIR. BUT WHAT YOU SAID MAKES ME WANT TO GO BACK TO THE 20 YEAR COMMITMENT WITH THIS PARTICULAR NUCLEAR DEAL BECAUSE YOU CAN EITHER SEE IT AS ABSOLUTE CONVICTION OF THE NEED TO SOURCE ENERGY AT THOSE LEVELS LONG-TERM BECAUSE OF WHAT AI IS DOING, OR YOU LOOK AT IT AS A HEDGE, THE NEED FOR PROTECTION TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT THE ENERGY SECURITY IF YOU NEED IT. BRENT:
I THINK IT IS A COMBO OF BOTH. IT IS A CARBON OFFSET FROM THE OTHER WAYS THEY ARE GENERATING POWER. SO THERE IS THAT ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENT THAT THEY HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF. I THINK THEY CHECK THE BOX ON THAT. THEY LOCK UP A FACILITY THAT PERHAPS WAS GOING TO GO OFF-LINE. THEY PROTECT THIS POWER FROM PERHAPS OTHERS THAT WERE GOING TO GET IT.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE CHECKBOXES. I THINK THEY GET OUT OF THIS TRANSACTION. AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, IT IS VIRTUAL. AMAZON AND OTHERS ARE GOING NUCLEAR AND PUTTING THEM NEAR IT. THIS IS A VIRTUAL DEAL, WHICH AGAIN IS UNIQUE.
SO I THINK THERE ARE MULTIPLE THREADS TO PULL HERE. BUT AGAIN, I THINK WHAT THIS SIGNIFIES IS THAT WE ARE REALLY EARLY. IT WILL HAVE MASSIVE IMPACTS ON ALL OF OUR LIVES ACROSS EVERY INDUSTRY. AND I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS YESTERDAY.
OVER THE NEXT YEAR, META WILL BE ABLE TO POWERFUL ADVERTISING AND AI ACTUAL CAMPAIGNS, WHICH MEANS YOU COULD SAY I WOULD LIKE A SIDEWALK SALE FOR MY FURNITURE COMPANY AND HERE ARE THE PICTURES FROM THE LAST YEAR. I DON'T HAVE TO HIRE A VIDEOGRAPHER. YOU JUST PUT THE PICTURES IN. ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT SPINS OUT HERE IS A SIDEWALK SALE THURSDAY WITH THE BAND, WINE, CHEESE, DISCOUNTS, AND HERE IS THE VIDEO, AND YOU DO IT AT A FRACTION OF THE COST. THIS WILL BE INCREDIBLE WHAT IT DOES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. META IS ENABLING THE SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMY TO FIND THE RIGHT CUSTOMERS, TO GENERATE THE RIGHT CAMPAIGNS. IT IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLD.
WE ARE ALL TRYING -- CAROLINE: WE ARE ALL TIED TO HAVE MORE WINE AND CHEESE WITH OUR GENERATIVE AI. THAT IS WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO. SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU ON. THE SCALE OF THE AMBITION COMING FROM META.
MEANWHILE, LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH MORGAN STANLEY. IT IS SHARPENING ELON MUSK'S AI COMPANY. THIS IS THE LATEST FUNDRAISING MOVED BY THE BILLIONAIRE. OUR GUEST JOINS US WITH MORE.
IS HE LOOKING TO THE DEBT MARKET TO FINANCE HIS OWN INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDOUT? >> I HAVE TO IMAGINE SO BECAUSE IF YOU REMEMBER, XAI HAS A HUGE DATA CENTER IN MEMPHIS WHICH THEY CALLED COLOSSUS. IT WAS JUST LAST MONTH THAT ELON MUSK WAS OUT SAYING THEY HAVE 200,000 GP WAS -- GPU'S AT THAT SITE WHICH AIMS FOR A MILLION EITHER AT THAT SITE OR ONE NEARBY. THE SCALE WHICH ELON IS THINKING WHEN IT COMES TO XAI IS VERY MASSIVE. YOU KNOW AS WELL AS ANYBODY THIS IS INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE STUFF.
IT IS NOT SURPRISING TO ME IS NOT ONLY OUT TIME TO RAISE THE MONEY VIA DEBT BUT AS BLOOMBERG REPORTED, THEY ARE LOOKING TO RAISE MONEY WITH AN EQUITY ROUND AS WELL. ED: THIS IS A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENING IN PARALLEL. YOU HAVE DEBT BUT WAS REPORTED YESTERDAY BY ANOTHER OUTLET IS A TENDER TO GIVE BOTH COMPANIES LIQUIDITY.
WHAT I HEARD WAS AS SOON AS THAT MERGER CLOSED, ELON AND PEOPLE LIKE HIS FINANCIAL ATTENDANT STARTED PHONING EVERYONE AND SAID, IF WE RAISE MONEY, WANT TO GET INVOLVED? THAT IS KIND OF CLASSIC ELON INK PLAY. KURT: IT IS. THIS IS WHAT ELON DOES. HE SPENDS A LOT OF TIME IN GOVERNMENT SEEMINGLY RUINING HIS REPUTATION AND WATCHING TESLA'S STOCK TANK AND AT THE SAME TIME, PEOPLE ARE LINING UP OUT THE DOOR TO DO BUSINESS WITH HIM IN ALL OF THESE PRIVATE ENDEAVORS AS YOU MENTIONED. X, XAI. NUMERAL LINK -- NEUROLINK RAISE MONEY.
THIS IS SOMEONE WHO USUALLY HAS NO PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE GIVING HIM MONEY. THE QUESTION IS, HOW MUCH? AND WHERE DOES IT GO? HOW USEFUL IS IT FOR HIM? OR IS HE RAISING MONEY FOR THE SAKE OF RAISING MONEY? FOR THIS XAI THING, GIVEN WHAT HE SIGNALED ABOUT THE DATA CENTERS IN MEMPHIS SPECIFICALLY, WE CAN ASSUME ANYONE OF THIS WOULD GO TO BUILDING OUT THAT PROJECT. ED: THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COMING UP, AN ENERGY STARTUP FOUNDED BY A FORMER TESLA EXEC IS AIMING TO TRANSFORM TRANSFORMERS. WE WILL SPEAK TO THE CEO ABOUT HIS LATEST FUND RAISE AND THE TECHNOLOGY, NEXT.
ED: INCREASED INTERCITY DEMAND DRIVEN BY AI IS RUNNING UP A SHORTAGE OF TRANSFORMERS. A STARTUP HAS SET OUT TO ADDRESS THAT BOTTLENECK WAS SOLID STATE TRANSFORMERS THAT HELP ELECTRICITY IN THE SECTOR -- AND THE SECTORS SCALE FASTER. DREW BAGLINO IS THE HIGH-PROFILE LONG SERVING AND FORMER TESLA EXEC THAT HELPS SHAPE THAT COMPANY'S STRATEGY. DREW: THANKS FOR HAVING ME. ED: A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE WAITING TO
SEE WHAT YOU WOULD DO WITH YOUR LIFE AFTER TESLA. WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY, AND WHAT IS THE GOAL? DREW: THE GOAL IS TO BUILD GRID SCALE POWER SOLUTIONS TO ACCELERATE AN ALL ELECTRIC FUTURE. THE TECHNOLOGY IS BASICALLY LEVERAGING THE LEADING EDGE OF POWER SEMI CONDUCTORS TO GO DIRECTLY FROM ALL OF THE NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE ALL D.C.. THIS IS SOLAR BATTERIES, DATA CENTERS, AND THEY HAVE TO GET TO A GRID WHICH IS AC ALTERNATING CURRENT. WE WILL DO THAT WITHOUT TRANSFORMERS, FULLY WITH POWER PRODUCTS THAT WERE DESIGNED HERE IN CALIFORNIA. YOUARE TALKING ED: -- IN CALIFORNIA. ED: I WONDER TO GET THE BACK STORY.
DID YOU DESIGN THIS TECHNOLOGY? ARE YOU WORKING WITH SOMEONE WHO DID? DREW: WE ARE DEVELOPING AN IN-HOUSE. -- WE ARE DEVELOPING AN IN-HOUSE, TAKING THE BEST -- WE ARE DEVELOPING IT IN-HOUSE, TAKING THE BEST TECHNOLOGIES, AND APPLYING IT TO THE GRID SCALE PROBLEM. TYPICALLY YOU HAVE A LOW VOLTAGE CONVERTER, INVERTER FROM AROUND 1000 VOLTS.
ON THIS SHOW, NVIDIA TALKED ABOUT DATA CENTERS. YOU GO THROUGH A LOW-VOLTAGE INVERTER SO YOU END UP WITH AC AND THEN YOU NEED ONE OF THE OLD SCHOOL TRANSFORMERS TO GET UP TO 34,000 VOLT. WE WILL DO INDIRECTLY -- WE WILL DO IT DIRECTLY. CAROLINE: WHO ARE YOU DISRUPTING AT THE
MOMENT? IS IT OLD-SCHOOL IS CRITICALLY -- OLD-SCHOOL ELECTRICITY PLAYERS? WHO IS IT YOU ARE TAKING ON HERE? DREW: YEAH, I THINK WE ARE TRYING TO PROVIDE A MORE EFFICIENT, MORE COMPACT, MORE SCALABLE SOLUTION. THERE IS ACTUALLY A LOT OF PLAYERS IN THIS SPACE. YOU HAVE SWITCHGEAR PROVIDERS COME A LOT OF DIFFERENT TRANSFORMER PROVIDERS. THERE ARE A LOT OF NO NAME
POWER ELECTION PROVIDERS AND SOME BIGGER NAME PLAYERS. IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYONE, I WOULD SAY. BUT REALLY WHEN I ZOOM OUT, ELECTRICITY GROWTH IS POISED TO TRIPLE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DECADES. AND THAT IS NOT JUST DUE TO AI BUT ALSO ELECTRIFICATION OF VEHICLES, BUILDINGS, EVERYTHING ELSE.
THERE WILL BE ROOM FOR MANY PLAYERS TO SUPPORT THIS GROWTH. CAROLINE: GIVE US THAT WIDER CONTEXT BECAUSE WE STARTED OUT THE SHOW TALKING ABOUT META LOCKING IN NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR ITS FUTURE AI NEEDS. HOW MUCH OF A BOTTLENECK IS ENERGY? HOW MUCH OF A BOTTLENECK IS THE INFRASTRUCTURE YOU ARE TRYING TO REWORK? HOW MUCH DO WE BLAME INCIDENTS LIKE THE SPANISH BLACKOUT ON NOT MODERN ENOUGH INFRASTRUCTURE? DREW: YEAH. THE ELECTRICITY SECTOR IS POISED AND AT AN INTERESTING INFLECTION POINT. IT IS THE CONFLUENCE OF THREE MAJOR TRENDS. FIRST YOU HAVE DEMAND. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES, THERE IS ROBUST ELECTRICITY DEMAND DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
ELECTRIFICATION OF BUILDINGS, TRANSPORTATION, AI. YOU HAVE A LOT A MANUFACTURING LOAD, WHICH IS EXCITING TO SEE COME TO THE U.S. AND OTHER COUNTRIES. AT THE SAME TIME, YOU HAVE SUPPLY. ABUNDANT, CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY IS GROWING EXPLOSIVELY TO BE HONEST. IN 2024, 500 GIGAWATTS WERE DEPLOYED, OVER HALF A TRILLION OF CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN SOLAR THAT YEAR ALONE. THAT NUMBER WAS UP 30%
YEAR-OVER-YEAR, SO A MASSIVE INCREASE IN ABUNDANT POTENTIAL SUPPLY, AND THE LAST THING IS AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY IN THE DEVELOPED ECONOMIES. OVER HALF OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE OUT THERE IS OVER 30 YEARS OLD. ED: SO THAT BEGS THE QUESTION, SORRY TO INTERRUPT, WHO IS THE CUSTOMER? WHO ARE YOU SELLING TO? DREW: INITIALLY DATA CENTERS. ED: DATA CENTER BUILDERS. DREW: I HAVE A SEVEN -- I HAVE LETTERS OF INTENT SIGNED. ED: INTERESTING. DREW: WE ALSO HAVE A LETTER OF INTENT SIGNED WITH THE LARGEST RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPERS. ED:
WORKING WITH GOOGLE I THINK. DREW: THEY ARE. ED: I GOT TO ASK YOU HOW YOU VIEW TESLA'S ENERGY BUSINESS IN THE CONTEXT OF HERON. YOU ARE AN ALUMNI, BUT DO YOU EXPECT TO WORK WITH TESLA ON THE STORAGE AND SERVICE SIDE? DREW: CERTAINLY POSSIBLE. WE HAVE NOT HAD DISCUSSIONS BOTHERED FORWARD TO HAVING DISCUSSIONS IN THE FUTURE IF IT MAKES SENSE. ED: THE DOOR WOULD NOT BE CLOSED
FOR ANY REASON? DREW: NOT THAT I CAN SEE. IT IS A HUGE PROBLEM. IT IS A METHOD SECTOR WITH TRILLIONS OF INVESTMENT IN THE COMING YEARS.
THERE IS MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYBODY, BUT YEAH, I THINK TESLA ENERGY HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB. OBVIOUSLY, I PUT A LOT OF MY TIME IN THERE OVER THE PAST DECADE. IF YOU GO BACK TO 2014, UTILITY SCALE STORAGE DID NOT EXIST. RESIDENTIAL BATTERIES DID NOT EXIST. NOW IN 2024, OVER 50
GIGAWATTS OF STORAGE WAS DEPLOYED AROUND THE YEAR AND A CAPEX OF $40 BILLION. THAT IS MASSIVE. THAT EAR ITSELF WAS ALMOST A DOUBLING OF DEPLOYMENT. SO REALLY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE ENERGY STORAGE WEIGHT, AND I EXPECT TESLA ENERGY TO CONTINUE TO GROW QUICKLY. ED: YOU WERE THE LONGEST-SERVING PERCENT AT TESLA BASICALLY BEHIND ELON FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.
WOULD YOU KINDLY SHARE SOME INSIGHT INTO HOW IT WORKS AT TESLA? YOU ARE ONE OF THREE STATED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS. THE THING I LEARNED IN MY REPORTING DOES THERE IS A REALLY DEEP TALENT, PARTICULARLY ON THE ENERGY SIDE AT A TIME WHEN EVERYONE TALKS ABOUT ELON MUSK LOOKING ELSEWHERE AND BEING DISTRACTED. DREW: YEAH. I OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES. AGAIN -- I AM EXTREME WE PROUD OF WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES, BUT AGAIN, WE SHOULD NOT OVERLOOK THE CONTRIBUTIONS TESLA PROVIDED TO THE EV SPACE. IN 2014, MAYBE THERE WERE
100,000 TOTAL EV'S AND LAST YEAR MORE THAN 10 MILLION. IT IS IMPRESSIVE. AND CONTINUING TO GROW. AND TESLA DID NOT JUST DO IT ITSELF. IT ENCOURAGED MANY NEWCOMERS TO ENTER THE SPACE. AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS TO THE CAPABILITY OF THE TEAM THERE. IT IS A REALLY STRONG TEAM AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT THEY CONTINUE TO DO IN THE FUTURE. IN FACT, I JUST GOT A NEW MODEL
Y. AND I HAVE TO SAY IT IS AN INCREDIBLE IMPROVEMENT OVER THE MODEL Y I GOT IN 2020 AT THE HEIGHT OF THE COVID -- OF COVID. ED: MICROSOFT CUT HUNDREDS OF JOBS JUST WEEKS AFTER ITS LARGEST LAYOFF IN YEARS. WE HAVE MORE ON THAT STORY, NEXT. ED: IT IS TIME NOW FOR TALKING TECH. FIRST UP, AND EV BUSINESS IS EXPECTED TO TURN PROFITABLE BY THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR ACCORDING TO THE FOUNDER.
LISA DAN HAS ENJOYED STRONG SALES EVEN IN A MARKET WHERE RIVALS HAVE BEEN SLASHING PRICES. TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING HAS BLAMED THE TRAFFIC DELAYS BUILDING OUT ITS PLANT IN SOUTHWEST JAPAN. THE COMPANY IS PUSHING AHEAD WITH PLANS TO EXPAND ABROAD IN THE FACE OF GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS AND RISING DEMAND FOR NVIDIA CHIPS. A CEO REAFFIRMED THE COMMITMENT TO SPEND $100 BILLION ON ITS ARIZONA PLANT. MICROSOFT IS CUTTING HUNDREDS MORE JOBS JUST WEEKS AFTER ITS LARGEST LAYOFF IN YEARS. A MICROSOFT SPOKESPERSON SAID THE LATEST CUTS ARE IN ADDITION TO THE 6000 ANNOUNCED LAST MONTH.NOTABLE. CAROLINE:
-- CAROLINE: NOTABLE. COMING UP, WE WILL TALK WITH JOHN TOUGH. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." CAROLINE: WILL COME BACK TO "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY -- WELCOME BACK TO "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY."
THE MARKETS ARE REBOUNDING SOMEWHAT. WE HAD SOME -- NOW IT IS FULL STEAM AHEAD ON THE NASDAQ, UP 0.6%, JOBS LOOKING STEADY. THE MACRO PICTURE GOOD TODAY. LET'S GO TO INDIVIDUAL MOVERS. NVIDIA, A COOL $1 BILLION ADDED TO MARKET CAP, UP 3.2%. SO, TOO, A NEW RECORD HIGH FOR BROADCOM. ANALYSTS LOOK EXCITINGLY TO THE AI PRODUCTS.
OUR COLLEAGUE WRITING ABOUT SWITCH TRIPS IS -- CHIP SWITC HES, AND IT IS LEADING ACCELERATION IN THE BLOC MORE BROADLY. META, THEY ARE TURNING THEIR ATTENTION TO NUCLEAR ENERGY. SEEING A 20 YEAR CONTRACT WITH INSULATION AT THE MOMENT. ED:
META SAYS IT REACHED A DEAL TO PURCHASE NUCLEAR POWER CAPACITY FROM CONSTELLATION ENERGY. ALL IN ON AN EFFORT TO KEEP UP WITH THE SOARING DEMANDS OF ENERGY TO POWER ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HERE WITH MORE, BLOOMBERG'S RILEY GRIFFIN, ON THE META BEAT. WE TALKED ABOUT THE SIZE AND SCOPE, THE NUMBERS. THIS IS A BIGGER ENERGY SUPPLY DEAL THAN MICROSOFT DID WITH CONSTELLATION, I DO NOTHING WE HAVE YET ANSWERED THE QUESTION WHY IS META DOING THIS? RILEY: GOOD QUESTION. THIS IS META'S LARGEST POWER
AGREEMENT TO DATE. WHILE WE DO NOT HAVE THE SPECIFIC FINANCIALS, THEY HAVE TOLD US THAT. REALLY, THIS IS ABOUT DRIVING POWER TOWARDS ITS DATA CENTERS, FOR ITS AI AMBITIONS, AS META'S DEMAND FOR THIS RELEASE URGES. -- REALLY SURGES. CAROLINE: LET'S TALK ABOUT THEIR AMBITIONS. THEY ARE NOW A HYPERSCALER. WHY?
RILEY: THEY HOPE TO DOMINATE THE AI RACE. THEY ARE COMPETING NOT JUST WITH SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES BUT WITH THE OPENAIS AND ANTHROPICS AND MICROSOFTS OF THE WORLD. THEY ARE QUICKLY SCALING. THEY SAID THIS YEAR THEY WILL SPEND AS MUCH AS $70 BILLION PLUS IN CAPEX, A LOT OF THAT DEDICATED TO AI INFRASTRUCTURE. THIS 20 YEAR DEAL IS ABOUT ASSURANCES.
WHILE ENERGY WILL START COMING IN IN 2027, THEY WANT NEAR-TERM ASSURANCES THAT THE GRID WILL RAIN RELIABLE, STABLE. THIS WAS AN EFFORT TO DO THAT, IN PART BECAUSE CONSTELLATION'S PLANT WAS AT RISK OF CLOSURE, ACCORDING TO META'S HEAD OF GLOBAL ENERGY. CAROLINE: BLOOMBERG'S RILEY GRIFFIN, APPRECIATE IT. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE THEME WHEN IT COMES TOVC -- TO VC'S AS WELL. WE ARE SEEING THEM RAISE FUNDS AND ATTEMPT TO TACKLE THIS NEW AGE OF ENERGY DEMAND. -- TO SCALE DIGITALLY ENABLED SOLUTIONS.
LET'S BRING IN JOHN TOUGH, MANAGING PARTNER OF ENERGIZE CAPITAL. THE NEED FOR AI BRINGS THROUGH A WHOLE OTHER POWER DEMAND PICTURE WE ARE SEEING IT TURN TO NUCLEAR. WHERE DO STARTUPS COME IN? JOHN: THAT WAS A PERFECT LEAD-IN FOR ENERGIZE. THE ENERGY DEMAND ACROSS THE U.S.
AND GLOBALLY IS UNPARALLELED. THE ANSWER TO, WHERE DOES THE POWER COME FROM, IS ALL OF THE ABOVE. IT IS NATURAL GAS, SOLAR, WIND, BATTERIES. IT IS ALL OF THE TECHNOLOGIES. ENERGIZE CAPITAL, AT OUR HEART,
IS A CLIMATE SOLUTIONS INTERSECTION FIRM. OUR BELIEF IS WE LOOK -- THERE ARE AMAZING MEGATRENDS, DATA CENTERS, AI, ENERGY TRANSITION, REASSURING -- RESHORING. WE LOOK TO INDEX THOSE MEGATRENDS. THE ENERGY TRANSITION IS THE MOST EXCITING OF THEM ALL. THE AMOUNT OF CAPITAL GOING INTO THE SPACE, THE AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY AND COMPLEXITY, IT WILL REWARD SPECIALIST FIRMS AND SPECIALIST INVESTORS. ED: SPECIALIST AND FSS ON SOFTWARE, BECAUSE WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, NOT JUST THE CONSTELLATION-META NEWS, BUT DREW BAGLINO EARLIER WITH HIS NEW COMPANY HERON. WE ARE TALKING SCALE IN THE
BILLIONS AND BILLIONS. WE WERE LOOKING AT THE EARLIER STAGE, HOW DO YOU FIND SOMETHING WORTHWHILE WHEN ALL OF THAT SCALE OF ACTIVITY IS GOING ON? JOHN: IT IS A GREAT QUESTION. THE WAY WE THOUGHT ABOUT IT IS THE ENERGY TRANSITION IS TODAY, AND SO THERE SHOULD BE BUDGET TODAY. WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR THESE TECHNOLOGIES TO BE READY IN 10 OR 20 OR 30 YEARS. IF YOU HAVE A GREAT SOLUTION IN SOFTWARE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND A CUSTOMER FOR YOU TODAY THAT WE CAN DILIGENCE. WE ARE ACTUALLY SEEING, INVERSE TO THE PUBLIC REST THESE DAYS, OUR COMPANIES ARE GETTING MUCH BIGGER, FASTER IN THE ENERGY AND TRANSITION MOMENT, NOT JUST IN THE U.S., BUT
INTERNATIONALLY AS WELL, THERE MAY BE A FEW MORE MARKETS MORE FAVORABLE SOME OF THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES. ED: WHERE ARE THESE COMPANIES, GEOGRAPHICALLY? JOHN: HISTORICALLY COME ABOUT ONE THIRD OF OF OUR INVESTMENTS HAVE COME FROM OUTSIDE THE U.S., BUT WE ARE PREDOMINATELY U.S. IN TERMS OF WHERE WE FOCUS. THE U.S. IS STILL THE INNOVATION HOTBED FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION. I LIKE TO SAY DEMAND REQUIRES INNOVATION, AND THIS IS THE ECONOMY OF DEMAND. THIS IS THE ECONOMY WHERE WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEXT-GENERATION TOOLS TO SERVE THESE AI AND HYPERSCALERS, TO SERVE THE COMPLICITY OF THE GRID.
IF WE CAN SOLVE IT HERE, THOSE TECHNOLOGIES DO EMERGE IN OTHER AREAS OF THE WORLD. CAROLINE: TALK TO US ABOUT HOW YOU ARE BEING AROUND THE WORLD WERE, HOW YOU'RE SEEING THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM WORK. JOHN: FOR US, THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETS HAVE BEEN A SOURCE OF GREAT DEALS, AS WE SAID BEFORE. FUNDAMENTALLY, EVEN WHEN WE PARTNER WITH EUROPEAN FIRMS, THEY ARE LOOKING FOR ACCESS TO U.S. MARKETS.
THIS IS -- AMERICAN ENERGY DOMINANCE HAS BECOME THE THEME, AND IT IS REAL. THERE ARE BIG BUDGETS. THERE ARE FIRMS IN THE TECHNOLOGY SPACE SPENDING MORE MONEY IN UTILITIES AND CAPEX. WE ARE TRYING TO FIND THESE AMAZING COMPANIES TO HELP THEM SCALE TO $50 MILLION, $100 MILLION OF REVENUE AND BEYOND. ONE EXAMPLE IS NIRA ENERGY. WE LOVE THE CONCEPT OF A COMPLEX ENERGY GRID. THERE'S NATURAL GAS GOING ON, WIND, SOLAR. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE EQUATION, WE HAVE DATA CENTERS, BIG, NEW BUILDINGS, ELECTRIFICATION MOBILITY, ALL TAXING THE GRID. NIRA FINDS A WAY TO INTEGRATE
THOSE AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GRID OPERATORS. INCREDIBLE SOFTWARE, AI-BASED. WE ARE EXCITED TO BACK THEM. CAROLINE: WHAT IS INTERESTING, YOU HAVE FUNDED WHEN IT COMES TO BATTERY SOFTWARE, BUT THE LP'S.
YOU HAVE ENERGY PLAYERS, WHAT DO THEY WANT? JOHN: WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE THIS VERY BIG SWATH OF LP BASE. ABOUT 2%. WE ARE ALSO LUCKY TO HAVE THIS COLONEL OF -- KERNAL OF TRADITIONAL FIRMS. GE, FOR US, THEY ARE FANTASTIC CAPITAL AND INSIGHTS PARTNER TO REACH INSIGHTS IN THIS MARKET IN THE STATES AND GLOBALLY. IT IS VERY MUCH A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP ON HOW WE CAN GET GREAT CAPITAL RETURNS BUT ALSO GREAT INSIGHTS. ED:
JOHN TOUGH, MANAGING PARTNER OF ENERGIZE CAPITAL, GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON THE SHOW. COMING UP, TRUMP MEDIA HAS RAISED $2.24 BILLION TO CREATE A BITCOIN TREASURY. WE WILL TALK ABOUT THESE TYPES OF RESERVES WITH ALYSE KILLEEN FROM STILLMARK. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. BIGGEST NAMES IN TECH. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. ED: TRUMP MEDIA, THE COMPANY BEHIND TRUTH SOCIAL, RAISED 2.4 4 BILLION DOLLARS TO BUY BITCOIN FOR ITS TREASURY. IT IS ONE OF A GROWING NUMBER
OF TREASURIES FOLLOWING MICHAEL SAILOR -- SAYLOR'S BITCOIN BUYING STRATEGY. FOR MORE, WE WANT TO BRING IN ALYSE KILLEEN, MANAGING PARTNER OF STILLMARK. WHAT IS THE LOGIC, PARTICULARLY IF YOU ARE AT THE LEADER OF A SOCIAL MEDIA PROBLEM, IN DOING THIS? ALYSE: WE HAVE SEEN SEVERAL COMPANIES BECOME BITCOIN TREASURY COMPANIES, BITCOIN ACQUIRE AS THEIR CORE FOCUS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENTIATE THAT FROM COMPANIES THAT ADDED BITCOIN TO THE TREASURY FOR PURPOSES OF GROWING THE TREASURY. THE MARKET IS DIFFERENTIATING
BETWEEN THE TWO CREATED THE RELATIVE SIZE OF THE BITCOIN TREASURY'S IMPORT FOR HOW IT IS VALUED IN THE MARKET. FOR BITCOIN TREASURY COMPANIES, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IS THE MARKET PROVIDES DIFFERENTIATION ACROSS A FEW MEASURES. FIRST, WE SEE THE METHOD TO ACQUIRE BITCOIN BEING BORN.
IS DEBT USE, IS EQUITY SOLD, AND WHERE DO THE TERMS OF THE DEBT? WE HAVE ALSO SEEN BRAND AND TRUST IN THE MANAGEMENT TEAM IS IMPORTANT. AS THE SPACE MATURES, HAVING A BITCOIN BUSINESS THAT GENERATES YIELD ACROSS MARKET CYCLES WILL BE VALID. ED: THAT IS INTERESTING, BECAUSE THAT NAME IS PARTICULARLY VOLATILE, FROM THE STOCK STORY. WHAT DOES IT TELL YOU ABOUT BITCOIN? THAT IT IS HELD ON A BALANCE SHEET IN TREASURY, THAT THE LONG-TERM VIEW OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH BITCOIN? ALYSE: IT SAYS BITCOIN HAS REALLY MATURED. WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF
BITCOIN , THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE BITCOIN ETF, WE SAW WALL STREET INVESTORS REALLY IDENTIFY BITCOIN AS AN ASSET THAT BELONGS IN PEOPLE'S PORTFOLIOS, INSTITUTIONAL PORTFOLIOS, AND IS DIFFERENT AND DISTINCT FROM OTHER CRYPTO ASSETS. AS BITCOIN HAS MATURED, THE BITCOIN TREASURY STRATEGY IS DOING THE SAME. OF COURSE, THIS IS SOMETHING NEW, BUT AS MULTIPLE PLAYERS ENTER, WE ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE MARKET WILL VALUE THIS STRATEGY. WE HAVE SEEN THE EMERGENCE OF
NEW METRICS, IN FACT. IN EARLY MAY, LOCK STREAM'S CEO INTRODUCED A REALLY INTERESTING METRIC FOR EVALUATING BITCOIN TREASURY STRATEGY COMPANIES AND THEIR EXECUTION. THAT'S PACE OF MNAV COVER. WHAT THAT MEANS IS, TAKING A STEP BACK, MNAV IS A METRIC THAT MEASURES A COMPANY'S BITCOIN NET ASSET VALUE. IT DIVIDES ENTERPRISE VALUE BY THE COMPANY'S BITCOIN NAV.
MONTHS TO MNAV COVER IS A MEASURE OF THE PACE AT WHICH A COMPANY CAN ACQUIRE BITCOIN TO JUSTIFY THE PREMIUM. IF THE MARKET NOTES A COMPANY HAS GROWN THERE -- THEIR BITCOIN PER SHARE 2X OVER THE PAST 18 MONTHS, FOR EXAMPLE, AS MICRO STRATEGY HAS, THAT CAN JUSTIFY A 2X PREMIUM. CAROLINE: YOU HAVE BEEN IN THIS GAME FOR A VERY LONG TIME -- NOT TO AID YOU, BUT LIKE 2013. YOU COME IN STUDYING IT FROM AN INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE. THE STORE OF VALUE WE NOW SEE PLAYED OUT IN TERMS OF TREASURY, BUT WHAT ABOUT AS A DECENTRALIZED FINANCE USE CASE AS WELL? ALYSE: WE HAVE SEEN COMPANIES IN THE BITCOIN VALUE AND INVESTMENT SPACE PEOPLE INTO PROVIDING OTHER SERVICES, AND THE MORE FULL BANKING EXPANSE FOR THEIR USER BASE, BOTH FOR RETAIL USERS AND INSTITUTIONAL CLIENTS. WE HAVE SEEN USERS DEMAND AND
SUCCESSFULLY RECEIVED FROM THESE COMPANIES TOOLS FOR LENDING, BORROWING, YIELD GENERATION, SO THEY CAN BE FULLY BANKED BY THEIR BITCOIN PROVIDERS, THE COMPANIES THEY HAVE TRUSTED TO ON BOARD BITCOIN WITH. NOW WHAT WE ARE SEEING, AS TECHNOLOGIES HAVE MATURED, IS THE INTRODUCTION OF NOT JUST TRADITIONAL FINANCE TOOLS, BUT ALSO DEFIC TOOLS, THOSE HAVE BEEN TESTED AND SEE EARLY MARKET IN CRYPTO SPACES HAVE MATURED TO LAUNCH ON BITCOIN TO PROVIDE DECENTRALIZED FINANCE. BORROWING AND LENDING BUT IN A MANNER WHICH IS MORE CONSISTENT WITH CRYPTO PRINCIPLES. CAROLINE: THE MATURATION. ALYSE KILLEEN, FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER AT STILLMARK, WE APPRECIATE YOU ON ALL THINGS BITCOIN.
COMING UP, OUR CONVERSATION WITH SNOWFLAKE'S CEO SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ♪ CAROLINE: SNOWFLAKE IS IN FULL SUMMIT MODE THIS WEEK, WHICH MEANS IT IS MAKING A SLEW OF PRODUCTS AND AMMONITE -- MNA ANNOUNCEMENTS.
ONE OF THOSE IS CRUNCHY DATA. ICON UP WITH THE SNOWFLAKE CEO SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY AT THE START OF THE SUMMIT. SRIDHAR: ALL APPLICATIONS THAT REQUIRE BACKING STORES -- WE CALL THEM TRANSACTIONAL STORES. CRUNCHY DATA IS ABOUT PROVIDING A WORLD-CLASS OFFERING FOR CUSTOMERS RIGHT WITHIN SNOWFLAKE. IF YOU THINK OF CREATING AN AI -- YOU NEED SOMEPLACE TO STORE THEM AND RETRIEVE THEM AND ANSWER FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS THAT IS WHAT COUNTRY DATA DOES. IT IS AN ENTERPRISE GRADE DATABASE THAT WILL MAKE IT MUCH EASIER FOR DEVELOPERS TO CREATE OBLIGATIONS -- APPLICATIONS ON TOP OF SNOWFLAKE. CAROLINE:
WHAT IS IT LIKE DOING MNA RIGHT NOW -- M&A RIGHT NOW? HOW WILLING TO YOU THINK THE INVESTOR BASE IS TO SEE IT? SRIDHAR: I THINK INVESTORS ARE OPEN TO M&A. WE ARE THOUGHTFUL IN HOW WE DO ACQUISITIONS. WE DO NOT DO RECKLESS MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR ACQUISITIONS. BY BRINGING IN PRODUCTS THAT PROVIDE A CLEAR NEED, QUICKLY INTEGRATING THEM AND TAKING THEM TO MARKET, WE ARE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH ACQUISITIONS.
A MORE RECENT ACQUISITION WILL COME OUT AS OPEN FLOW, WHICH WILL MAKE IT REALLY EASY FOR CUSTOMERS TO BRING DATA, BOTH FROM UNSTRUCTURED DATA SYSTEMS -- THINK SHAREPOINT AND GOOGLE DRIVE AND SO MUCH MORE -- AND MAKE IT REALLY EASY FOR THEM TO BRING DATA. CRUNCHY DATA IS NEXT IN THE ACQUISITIONS THAT WILL FULFILL A BIG, OPEN NEED THAT WE HAVE. WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE ACQUISITIONS WE ARE DOING AND THE VALUE TO CREATE FOR BOTH OUR CUSTOMERS AND INVESTORS.
CAROLINE: M&A BRINGS IN TALENT, TOO. THAT IS HOW YOU CAME TO SNOWFLAKE AND BECAME THE CEO. I AM INTERESTED IN HOW YOU ARE BUILDING THE TALENT.
YOU ARE HIRING A LOT. IS THAT THE AREA YOU NEED TO BEEF UP? SRIDHAR: THERE ARE VARIATIONS QUARTER TO QUARTER. I WOULD NOT LOOK TOO MUCH INTO THAT. WE HAVE BEEN REALLY GOOD ABOUT OUR BUSINESS. WE ARE HIRING IN ALL THE KEY
FUNCTIONS IN AN ENDURING PRODUCT FOR SURE, BUT ALSO IN SALES AND MARKETING, BECAUSE WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT OUR ABILITY TO TURN THAT INTO REVENUE. OUR COMPANY IS STILL GROWING EXCEPTIONALLY WELL. WE HAD 25% FOR THE YEAR AND SHOWED NO DECELERATION IN Q4 TO Q1. WE ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE. WE PRACTICE WHAT WE PREACH. THERE ARE A LOT OF AI APPLICATIONS AND SNOWFLAKE THAT ARE MAKING US ALL, ME INCLUDED, MORE EFFICIENT IN TERMS OF HOW WE DO OUR DAY-TO-DAY JOBS. IT IS THAT COMBINATION OF BEING RIGHT AT THE CENTER OF THE AI REVOLUTION COMBINED WITH THIS WILLINGNESS TO USE AI OURSELVES TO MAKE THINGS MORE EFFICIENT THAT MAKES US FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THE FUTURE THAT IS COMING. ED: SNOWFLAKE'S CEO SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY.
LET'S LOOK AT HP SHARES. THIS IS ITS SCHEDULED TO REPORT SECOND-QUARTER REPORTS AFTER THE MARKET CLOSES TODAY. MORGAN STANLEY EXPECTS A MIXED REPORT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE COMPANY'S SERVER BUSINESS.
IT NOTED AN UNCERTAIN BACKDROP GIVEN TARIFFS BUT THERE IS A FLOOR UNDER THE STOCK. AI STORY AS WELL. CAROLINE: AND ANOTHER EARNINGS ONE AS WELL. CROWDSTRIKE RELEASING AFTER THE MARKETS CLOSED. WEDBUSH RAISING ITS TARGET PRICE AFTER THE REPORT.
FOR MORE, LET'S BRING IN BLOOMBERG'S MANDEEP SINGH. I CANNOT BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE THE DISASTER FOR CROWDSTRIKE TAKING SOME PEOPLE OFF-LINE. HOW ARE THEY LOOKING NOW? MANDEEP: THEY HAVE RECOVERED WELL IN TERMS OF VACATION THEY DO NOT LOSE A LOT OF CUSTOMERS. AT THE SAME TIME, WHEN I LOOK
AT THE NET NEW AR, A KEY METRIC THEY REPORT ON, IT IS STILL NEGATIVE. IT IS NOT AS IF THEY HAPPEN ADDING MORE BUSINESS THAN THEY WERE A YEAR AGO. NET-NET, LOOK, THERE ARE A LOT OF CHANGES HAPPENING IN THE CYBERSECURITY SPACE, BECAUSE OF GENERATIVE AI. THINK OF ALL THE AI AGENT DEPLOYMENT AT THE ENTERPRISE LEVEL. WHAT THEY ARE REALLY FEARFUL OF HIS DATA LEAKING TO THESE LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS, THAT IS WHERE DATA SECURITY BECOMES PARAMOUNT. THAT IS WHERE CROWDSTRIKE COMES
IN. NOBODY HAS REALLY TALKED ABOUT AI IN A BIG WAY. DESCALER ACTUALLY SAW A SEQUENTIAL DECELERATION. CROWDSTRIKE, HOW HAVE THEY MANAGED GIVEN THE VOLATILITY IN THE QUARTER. ED: I AM VERY EXCITED TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT META SECURING 1001 HUNDRED 21 MEGAWATTS CAPACITY, NUCLEAR CAPACITY. YOU PUT A REACT OUT, AND YOU GO
STRAIGHT TO INFERENCE, AND I AM NOT SURPRISED. CAN YOU GIVE US YOUR THESIS? MANDEEP: LOOK, EVERYONE HAS CALLED OUT THE REASONING BEING THE PRIMARY DRIVER OF ADDITIONAL COMPUTE. THEY ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT SCALING LAWS AND TRAINING ANYMORE. IT IS ALL ABOUT REASONING AT THE TIME OF SUBMITTING THE QUERY, THAT THE MODEL IS SINKING A LOT MORE. IN THE CASE OF META, THEY ARE SERVING 3 MILLION MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS. IF THEY HAVE TO RULE OUT
GENERATIVE AI TO THIS MONTHLY USER BASE, THEY NEED A LOT OF COMPUTE. THAT'S WHY, EVEN IF YOU THINK TRAINING IS NOT AS MUCH OF A DRIVER, INFERENCING AND REASONING IS A DRIVER, BECAUSE OF THE POWER DENSITY. LOOK, THEY'RE TRYING TO GET AS MUCH DENSITY AS THEY CAN, BECAUSE THEY RAISED THEIR CAPEX. THEY HAVE A LOT OF NVIDIA GPUS. HOW DO YOU UTILIZE THOSE AT 100% CAPACITY? YOU NEED THE POWER. SO THEY ARE BEING PROACTIVE IN
TERMS OF SOURCING THAT POWER. CAROLINE: HOW MUCH CAN META LOOK AND UTILIZING DIFFERENT INFO STRUCTURE? WE HAD GROK, THAT TRIED TO BE THE TRIP -- MANDEEP: WILL TELL YOU THEY -- NVIDIA WILL TELL YOU -- CLEARLY, EVERYONE IS TRYING TO SOLVE THE POWER EQUATION, BUT THERE IS NOTHING LIKE HAVING THE POWER SOURCED THROUGH THEIR DATA CENTER. THAT'S A GOOD SITUATION TO BE IN, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE SPENDING SEVEN -- $70 BILLION A YEAR. YOU DO NOT WANT POWER TO BE THE BOTTLENECK. ED: BLOOMBERG INTELLIGENCE SENIOR ANALYST MANDEEP SINGH.
THAT DOES IT FOR THIS EDITION OF "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." CAROLINE: DO NOT FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE PODCAST. YOU WILL FIND ON THE TERMINAL, AS WELL AS ON APPLE, SPOTIFY, AND IHEART. AND WE ARE FLYING OUT TO YOU, ED. CAN'T WAIT TO BE BACK IN SAN FRANCISCO.
2025-06-09 18:58
