The GPU Pipeline Visualized

LLMs are here to stay, and the GPU pipeline — the picks and shovels powering this surge in novel compute demand — is the clearest lens on who controls who, and therefore, who controls the profit.
Takeaways
Compute is the choke point — GPUs flow from TSMC → Nvidia → cloud providers, and whoever sits on those pipes dictates the pace of AI.

Cash alone isn’t enough — billions in financing (SoftBank, Microsoft, Oracle) only matter if they secure long-term contracts for scarce compute.

Contracts shape power — exclusivity (Azure), mega-deals (Oracle $300B), and capacity guarantees lock in who profits and who’s locked out.

The GPU Pipeline Visualized - Voronoi