[ChiperSoft]

Investors, thats what is driving it. AI is the only thing venture capital has cared about since 2022, so the people who earn fortunes from sucking on the VC teat are following the money. It doesn't matter if the data centers are worthless in five years, they will have extracted wealth from building them.

[SoftTalker]

How do you extract wealth from building a highly capital-intensive physical plant? Construction crews and building material suppliers do not work on a promise of future payments.

[coldpie]

You get VC to give your company $X00 M to build out AI capabilities, take a $X M salary for yourself, and retire. Doesn't matter what happens past that.

[ChiperSoft]

The same way subcontractors make money, they take a cut of the building cost. VC invests a billion on a five year contract, you take a million as your salary for those five years and use the rest to pay for construction and initial operating costs. If the data center isn't profitable, oh well, you got paid 5 million all the same. If it is profitable, well thats just a bonus.