“Nvidia is finding new ways for its customers to raise money, and it's expanding the risk of the AI buildout significantly.”

Stratechery · Aug 10 · Nvidia's Risky Business: AI Boom Mirrors 1870s Railroad Collapse

“At the peak Cooke employed 1,500 salespeople and funded 1,300 newspapers (through a combination of advertising and direct payments) with a brand burnished by the Civil War.”

Stratechery · Aug 10 · Nvidia's Risky Business: AI Boom Mirrors 1870s Railroad Collapse

“The problem was that Northern Pacific's capital needs were endless, and by September 1873, as credit tightened worldwide thanks to a crash on the Vienna stock exchange and the demonetization of silver, Cooke, who had been funding Northern Pacific from deposits in between bond issuances, could find no more buyers.”

Stratechery · Aug 10 · Nvidia's Risky Business: AI Boom Mirrors 1870s Railroad Collapse

“Ahamed is not shy about drawing a link between the collapse of the railroad buildout and the current AI moment”

Stratechery · Aug 10 · Nvidia's Risky Business: AI Boom Mirrors 1870s Railroad Collapse