# Episode 65: Capex to the Moon!

- Show: [The Circuit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit)
- Published: 2024-04-29
- Length: 40m
- Episode: 66
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/af470eb3

## Summary

Ben Bajarin and Jay Goldberg discuss the unprecedented capital expenditure (Capex) by cloud hyper-scalers like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, which is projected to reach nearly $200 billion in 2024, driven by the race to build AI infrastructure. They analyze the disconnect between this massive spending and the current lack of clear consumer monetization or revenue growth, comparing the current infrastructure build-out to the fiber boom of the 1990s. The hosts explore the potential for future innovations in AI wearables, AR glasses, autonomous vehicles, and robotics, while noting the deflationary pressure on compute costs as heterogeneous solutions and custom silicon emerge.

## Chapters

- [0:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=5) Introduction: The Skyrocketing Capex of Cloud Hyper-scalers
- [3:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=206) The Arms Race: Spending Like Drunken Sailors on GPUs
- [7:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=425) The Monetization Problem: No Clear Consumer Use Cases
- [12:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=737) The Fiber Boom Comparison: Infrastructure and Obsolescence
- [16:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=1016) Silicon Content Growth and the 2028 Inventory Overhang
- [22:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=1321) Future Hardware: AI Wearables, AR, and Robotics
- [26:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=1611) Apple's Capex Dilemma and the Quest for AI Strategy
- [31:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=1894) The Chicken and Egg Problem of Infrastructure vs. Apps
- [36:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2024-04-29-episode-65-capex-to-the-moon#t=2185) Deflationary Forces: Custom Silicon and Heterogeneous Inference

## Topics

- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Morgan Stanley (company)
- Google (company)
- Microsoft (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Meta (company)
- Apple (company)
- TSMC (company)
- AWS (product)
- NVIDIA (company)
- Open AI (company)
- Qualcomm (company)
- AMD (company)
- Intel (company)
- Balcom (company)
- Stargate (product)
- AI Pin (product)
- Rabbit (product)
- Vision Pro (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [How Much is Enough for Hyperscale Companies?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-07-26-how-much-is-enough-for-hyperscale-companies) (EE Times Current)
- [Surging AI and Data Center CapEx: Are We on the Verge of a Bubble? w/ Wasif Khan](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2026-03-17-surging-ai-and-data-center-capex-are-we-on-the-verge-of-a-bubble-w-wasif-khan) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [AI NEWS | Episode 32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-12-15-ai-news-episode-32) (Built 2 Scale)
- [The Elon vs Sam FEUD Explodes + GPT-5 First Look & Remote Construction Robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-08-14-the-elon-vs-sam-feud-explodes-gpt-5-first-look-remote-construction-robots) (Built 2 Scale)
- [Is ARR a Myth?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-19-is-arr-a-myth) (Built 2 Scale)

## Citing this page

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