Cool Vector Hot Takes: DeepSeek, Stargate, Private Capital

The NEW Episode of Cool Vector delves into the sudden rise of DeepSeek, NVIDIA’s share swoon, the implications of overbuilding in the data center space, Stargate’s shock-and-awe, $500 billion digital infra announcement, tough sledding in the private capital markets, and why Phil, Nabeel and David enjoy the topic of data centers so much. 

 

In “Cool Vector Hot Takes,” Phillip Koblence, Nabeel Mahmood, and David Snow engage in a lively, irreverent conversation, drawing on decades of experience in the data center and private capital industries.

 

Regarding DeepSeek’s more-with-less breakthrough, Koblence says, “ My initial take was, wow, that was quick. The overarching demand that's been generated in the super, mega, hyperscale data center space has been a little overhyped. You might not need 100 or 300 KW in a single rack in order to achieve some of these things.”

 

Mahmood adds: “We’ve been talking about it for a long time. People have been talking about the overdesign in the data center and compute space, and the underutilization.”

 

Despite evidence of potential overbuilding in the data center space, Mahmood and Koblence agree all that compute will eventually be utilized. Demand may increase even quicker, says Mahmood, referencing the Javons Paradox, by which technology made faster, cheaper and easier prompts a surge in usage. 

 

The three discussed Stargate’s impressive consortium of backers, including SoftBank, Oracle and Microsoft, and their decision to highlight the dollar amount of the digital infrastructure mega-project over other metrics. 

 

The talk turns to dynamics in the private capital market, which, Snow explains, is suffering from a dearth of cash distributions, restricting, for now, the amount of capital raised earmarked for digital infrastructure. 

 

Finally, the three editorial advisors to Cool Vector discuss what they find so intellectually fascinating about the data center industry.

 

Cool Vector Website: coolvectormedia.com

Nomad Futurist Website: https://nomadfuturist.org/