Bloomberg Tech — "Dell Boosts Forecast Through 2030 Off AI Boom"
Date: October 7, 2025
Hosts: Caroline Hyde (New York), Ed Ludlow (San Francisco)
Theme: How the generational boom in artificial intelligence (AI) is driving seismic changes in tech, especially in server hardware (Dell), M&A (CoreWeave), and software integrations; analysis of winners and market dynamics; major deal-making; company pivots; and insights directly from key industry CEOs.
Overview
This episode centers on Dell’s dramatic upgrade to its long-term forecast, powered by relentless AI demand, and explores accompanying shifts in infrastructure, software, M&A activity, and the stock market. Through expert interviews and direct statements from CEOs, the conversation surveys the changing balance of power in the AI tech stack, tracks major M&A moves, and dissects the spillover effects on other players—ranging from Tesla to OpenAI to Figma.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Dell’s AI-Driven Outlook and Server Market Boom
[00:23–04:23]
- Dell nearly doubled its projected sales and profit growth through fiscal 2030, mainly on runaway demand for AI servers.
- The company’s latest quarter:
- Booked $5.6B in business, shipped $8B in servers, and has a $12B backlog.
- Margins are compressed due to rapid scaling: “It costs a lot of money to move quickly. These are massive deals. The supply chain is tight... Dell has been willing to do this and is winning big deals.” — Brody Ford, Bloomberg reporter [02:39]
- Dell’s strength: Successfully packaging Nvidia chips into servers for the AI gold rush and accepting tighter margins to scale faster than competitors.
- Other market players like CoreWeave and G42 are named as key customers propelling Dell’s growth.
- Margins remain a market concern, but current revenue growth overshadows these worries.
Notable Quote:
“Sales are going to be pretty healthy growth rate in the coming years, though of course as with a lot of AI infrastructure, the question is margins... But the growth rates are good enough that today it doesn't matter.”
— Brody Ford, Bloomberg [01:41]
2. IBM and AI Software Adoption (Anthropic Integration)
[03:23–04:57]
- IBM, often seen as a legacy player, announced it’s integrating Anthropic’s models for its coding assistant—seen as a stamp of approval for IBM’s enterprise AI push.
- Bloomberg frames this as a pivot for IBM, highlighting the growth of its software (not just outsourcing) businesses.
Notable Quote:
"This matters because Anthropic really is the favorite for coding."
— Brody Ford [03:23]
3. AI Market Bubble or Justified Growth? (Market Analysis)
[04:57–10:52]
- As indices flatten and “AI bubble” talk surges, Janet Moody (RBC Brewin Dolphin head of market analysis) asserts that the current AI-powered rally is underpinned by real spending and capacity-building, not speculative froth.
- She points to ongoing infrastructure/capex investments as extending the AI theme well into the next decade.
- Discusses AMD-OpenAI’s $100B financing (mostly from deep-pocketed investors and not debt-driven) as evidence of robust conviction and sustainability in compute demand.
- When pressed for hard data vs. “vision,” Moody highlights double-digit earnings growth among hyperscalers and frequent upward earnings revisions—as in Dell's latest numbers.
Notable Quote:
"There are a lot of mega ideas... and I think it just gives you visibility over that longevity of spending."
— Janet Moody [05:42]
"...earnings estimates and revenues are keeping revised outward. So there's really clear visibility you're going to as long as far as 2030."
— Janet Moody [10:03]
4. CoreWeave CEO on Hyper Growth, M&A, and Infrastructure Crunch
[11:41–18:23]
- CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator discusses recent acquisitions (Monolith AI, OpenPipe, Weights & Biases) as part of a strategy to provide “turnkey” offerings, from physical infrastructure up to software for clients moving into AI.
- On profitability: Margins remain "significant," though the scale-driven business causes “short term distortions,” and expanding software capabilities should further bolster profits.
- Describes industry-wide supply chain and power constraints as a “systemic imbalance,” requiring diversified partnerships (e.g., Galaxy Digital, Core Scientific).
- Puts new figures out: CoreWeave’s contracted power pipeline rose from 2.2 GW to 2.8 GW in the last quarter.
- Stresses commitment to existing infrastructure deals and explains that despite the acquisition attempt, Core Scientific is now a shrinking portion of CoreWeave’s overall footprint.
- On the $14.2B “minimum deal” and AMD/OpenAI’s epic 6GW capacity agreement: Intrator says demand is so massive that CoreWeave is laser-focused on meeting its contracted commitments and sees no “need to re-address the bid” for Core Scientific.
Notable Quotes:
"With the infrastructure that we sell [the] margins are significant. We're excited about it... The broadening out of our [software] offering... allows for an incredibly effective way of bringing on new clients."
— Michael Intrator [12:57]
"Since our last earnings call, we've increased our contracted pipeline of power from 2.2 gigawatts to 2.8 gigawatts."
— Michael Intrator [14:26]
5. Tesla’s Cheaper Model Y and Competitive Landscape
[19:30–22:11]
- Tesla reportedly plans a more affordable Model Y with fewer features and reduced battery/motor costs; strategized to offset the $7,500 US tax credit rollback and Chinese price competition.
- Debates whether this move is enough to sustain market momentum as Tesla emphasizes autonomy over expanding its lineup.
Notable Quote:
"...Elon Musk is not particularly interested in expanding the lineup with an altogether new vehicle... this is a company that's on the cusp of making vehicles capable of driving themselves."
— Craig Trudell, Bloomberg Autos [21:10]
6. OpenAI’s “Golden Touch”: Integrations, Stock Bumps, and Developer Momentum
[22:40–28:33]
- OpenAI’s Dev Day name-checks (e.g., Figma, HubSpot, Salesforce) caused stock spikes for mentioned companies; markets see such tie-ups as lifelines for older software players.
- Figma CEO Dylan Field details the fast, deep Slack-based engineering collaboration with OpenAI, downplaying market price action in favor of “user experience” and long-term value.
- Describes a culture of relentless innovation: “If they tell you they know where all this is headed, they’re lying...” — Dylan Field [27:49]
7. Prediction Markets and Tokenization: ICE's $2B Bet on Polymarket
[28:33–32:29]
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, NYSE’s owner) invests $2B in crypto-based betting platform Polymarket—signalling wider institutional embrace of on-chain data/markets.
- Regulatory climate has become more permissive, enabling innovation and partnerships with crypto-native startups.
Notable Quote:
"Data is an incredibly valuable part of exchange operators... and the path forward for exchanges as they're looking to innovate."
— Catherine Doherty, Bloomberg [28:57]
8. OpenAI’s Brad Lightcap on Massive Compute Demand and Usage Metrics
[34:34–37:01]
- OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap declares: “We are tremendously compute constrained”—justifying the mega-deals with AMD and Nvidia for new datacenters.
- Most important internal metric? API usage in tokens, which is surging: “Codex use is up 10x since August.” [36:17]
- OpenAI now boasts 800 million weekly ChatGPT users—a milestone that went “almost unnoticed” at Dev Day.
Notable Quotes:
“Demand... is the rate limiter for us... We have to invest ahead of that.” — Brad Lightcap [35:01]
“Tokens... that is the purest, for me, essence of utility. That consumption metric. If that number is going up, it means people are using us for more things.” — Brad Lightcap [36:17]
9. Developer Platform Ambitions and Industry Reactions
[37:19–39:00]
- OpenAI’s platforms are morphing into an “operating system” for app development, with broad integrations for third-party companies.
- The “800 million weekly users” milestone is flagged as one of the biggest signals for AI’s mainstreaming speed.
Notable Quote:
“If you’re an engineer or product person, you love new toys... and there are new toys every week or two right now. Where it all goes, nobody knows. If they tell you they do, they’re lying to you—or to themselves.”
— Dylan Field, Figma CEO [27:49]
Memorable Quotes (with Timestamps & Attribution)
-
Dell’s Seismic Shift:
"Sales are going to be pretty healthy... though of course the question is margins. Those are going to remain pretty tight... But the growth rates are good enough that today it doesn't matter."
– Brody Ford, Bloomberg [01:41] -
AI Infrastructure Boom:
"There are a lot of mega ideas... and I think it just gives you visibility over that longevity of spending.”
– Janet Moody, RBC [05:42] -
Profit Margins in Compute:
"With the infrastructure that we sell [the] margins are significant... The broadening out of our offering... allows for an incredibly effective way of bringing on new clients."
– Michael Intrator, CoreWeave [12:57] -
Demand for Compute as a Limiting Factor:
"We are tremendously compute constrained... Demand... is the rate limiter for us... We have to invest ahead of that."
– Brad Lightcap, OpenAI [35:01] -
OpenAI’s Key Metric:
"Tokens... that is the purest, for me, essence of utility. If that number is going up, it means people are using us for more things."
– Brad Lightcap, OpenAI [36:17] -
On AI’s Excitement & Uncertainty:
“If you’re an engineer or product person, you love new toys... and there are new toys every week or two right now... Where it all goes, nobody knows."
– Dylan Field, Figma CEO [27:49]
Key Timestamps
- 00:23–01:34: Dell’s growth guidance and AI server demand
- 03:23–04:57: IBM’s Anthropic deal; software opportunity
- 05:42–10:52: Market analysis (AI boom or bubble?) with Janet Moody
- 11:41–18:23: M&A and infrastructure with CoreWeave CEO
- 19:30–22:11: Tesla’s affordable Model Y and industry pressures
- 22:40–28:33: OpenAI’s developer ecosystem and the “golden touch” effect on stocks
- 28:33–32:29: ICE’s Polymarket deal and the rise of on-chain prediction markets
- 34:34–37:01: OpenAI’s expansion moves and COO’s perspective
- 37:19–39:00: Platform vision and user milestones
Summary Flow
The episode traces the domino effect of AI’s rise: from Dell’s hardware gains to software (IBM & Anthropic), market positioning (CoreWeave’s vertical integration), and even into electric vehicles (Tesla’s price moves). It underscores how the flood of AI attention is redrawing winners across market segments and leading to a frenzy of deal-making, beta launches, and product integrations—propelled by insatiable, infrastructure-constrained demand and punctuated by transparency from leading technologists about what it all means for the future.
This conversation-rich episode offers a rare cross-section of technology’s new vanguard, translating abstract headlines (like “AI boom”) into the gritty realities of earnings, power deals, market volatility, and human ingenuity.