When critics accuse your company of being part of an elaborate circular financing scheme, you've got two options: ignore it or come out swinging with numbers. CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) CEO Michael Intrator chose the latter, and he's not holding back.

In a recent Big Technology Podcast appearance, Intrator took aim at the narrative that Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) is essentially paying CoreWeave to buy its chips through strategic investments. His assessment? "Ridiculous." His reasoning? Basic math.

The Numbers Don't Add Up

Here's the theory that's been floating around: Nvidia invests in CoreWeave, which then uses that money to buy Nvidia's GPUs, artificially inflating demand for chips. It's a neat story, except for one problem—the scale doesn't even come close to making sense.

Intrator pointed out that while Nvidia has invested roughly $300 million across two funding rounds, CoreWeave has raised over $25 billion in total capital and carries a $42 billion valuation. That makes Nvidia's stake what he calls "de minimis"—a fancy way of saying it's like a fly on an elephant's backside.

"I'm pretty sure that they don't think of their investment of $300 million as the secret sauce to standing up the largest company in the world," Intrator said. Instead, he argues the relationship exists because of a "systemically imbalanced market" where demand for compute power massively outstrips supply. No financial engineering required.

How CoreWeave Manages Its Debt Load

The CEO also addressed another concern: CoreWeave's aggressive use of debt to fund its rapid expansion. The company has a somewhat clever approach using special purpose vehicles—or what Intrator casually refers to as "boxes."

Here's how it works: Revenue from investment-grade contracts with companies like Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) or Meta Platforms Inc. (META) flows directly into a restricted account. That money covers operating expenses and pays off lenders first. Only after those obligations are met does any profit get released to CoreWeave.

Intrator defended this structure as standard practice for infrastructure projects—think power plants or railroads. It's designed to ring-fence risk and make lenders comfortable, not to hide anything sketchy.

Old Chips, New Value

There's also been skepticism about how quickly AI hardware loses value. After all, in tech, last year's model is usually this year's paperweight. But CoreWeave's experience tells a different story.

Chief Strategy Officer Brian Venturo revealed that the company recently renewed a contract for older Nvidia A100 chips at 95% of their original value. That's remarkable considering newer, more powerful chips have since hit the market.

CoreWeave executives argue that the "depreciation narrative" is overblown. They point to long-term contracts from sophisticated hyperscalers as evidence that older hardware remains economically valuable for years. The idea that AI chips become obsolete in three years? They're not buying it.

Stock Performance Tells A Mixed Story

The market hasn't exactly been kind to CoreWeave lately. Shares have dropped 39.46% over the past six months, though they're still up a remarkable 100.35% over the past year. Year-to-date in 2025, CRWV has advanced 8.41%.

According to market data, CRWV maintains a weaker price trend across short, medium, and long-term timeframes—something investors will want to keep an eye on as the company continues its ambitious growth trajectory.

Intrator's core message is simple: Look at the actual numbers before jumping to conclusions about financial engineering. A $300 million investment doesn't prop up a $42 billion company with $25 billion in capital. The relationship between CoreWeave and Nvidia exists because there's massive demand for AI computing power, not because of some elaborate scheme to inflate chip sales. Whether the market agrees with that assessment remains to be seen.