All topicsSTATE OF AI REPORT.

Is contracted power the same as operating AI capacity?

By Nathan Benaich (Air Street Capital)

CoreWeave reported 4.2GW of contracted power as of August 11, 2026, and 1.5GW of active power at Q2 end. The two figures describe different stages of delivery. A contract can secure future supply, while active power indicates capacity already brought into service.

Source: CoreWeave: Q2 2026 earnings call.

Evidence you can use

CoreWeave contracted and active power

Q2 2026. Earnings call 2026-08-11

CoreWeave contracted and active power
MeasureCapacityAs of
Active powerSource1.5GWQ2 2026 end
Contracted powerSource4.2GW2026-08-11

Company-reported power measures: active power at Q2 2026 end and contracted power as of August 11, 2026. These categories overlap and should not be added together. Neither is a count of GPUs or a direct measure of usable computing performance.

Sources: CoreWeave: Q2 2026 earnings call.

Data & methodology →Download CSVJSON

Financing and local consent determine what gets built

NVIDIA is cementing its role as the “central bank for AI” as it marches toward a $6T market cap. Its partnership with six financial institutions aims to mobilize over $500B for AI infrastructure to help developers focus on finding and financing sites, permits, power, cooling, networking, and chips.

But things are definitely not all rosy in data center land. Last year, we predicted a wave of US data-center NIMBYism and Gallup's March survey found that 71% of Americans opposed a local AI data center, versus 53% for a nuclear plant. Data Center Watch reported at least 45 projects, representing nearly $68B in planned investment, blocked or delayed by local opposition in Q2. Local consent is already determining which projects can proceed.

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the report and the sources below.

Sources and dates

2026 report snapshot. Preview revised 2026-10-07. Individual data periods and source checks are listed below. This is not a claim that every source was updated on that date.

  1. CoreWeave: Q2 2026 earnings callQ2 2026. Call 2026-08-11. Corrected transcript: 4.2GW contracted as of August 11, 2026. 1.5GW active at Q2 end.
  2. Gallup: opposition to local data centersSurvey: March 2026. Retained from the launch essay.
  3. Data Center Watch: Q2 2026Q2 2026. Retained from the launch essay.
  4. European Commission: AI gigafactories call2026. Retained from the launch essay.
  5. State of AI Report 2026, slide 26: Scaling agentic RL creates huge demand for CPUs and memory alongside GPUs2026 report snapshot. Read against the report PDF on 2026-10-07. Study-specific limits retained.
  6. State of AI Report 2026, slide 123: Crypto miners are pivoting from further behind: 5.6GW contracted vs. 900MW live2026 report snapshot. Read against the report PDF on 2026-10-07. Study-specific limits retained.
  7. State of AI Report 2026, slide 125: AI build-out draws on chipmaker guarantees and hyperscaler equity2026 report snapshot. Read against the report PDF on 2026-10-07. Study-specific limits retained.
  8. State of AI Report 2026, slide 127: Hyperscalers and chipmakers hold over $3T of commitments off their balance sheets2026 report snapshot. Read against the report PDF on 2026-10-07. Study-specific limits retained.
  9. State of AI Report 2026, slide 129: A100 and V100 remain rentable six and nine years after launch2026 report snapshot. Read against the report PDF on 2026-10-07. Study-specific limits retained.
  10. State of AI Report 2026, slide 136: Leaders can’t be choosers: labs assemble diversified compute portfolios2026 report snapshot. Read against the report PDF on 2026-10-07. Study-specific limits retained.
  11. State of AI Report 20262026 report snapshot. Report PDF. See individual slide references for the expanded analysis.
  12. partnership - investor.nvidia.comOriginal source link retained from the launch essay.
  13. NIMBYism - docs.google.comOriginal source link retained from the launch essay.

Cite this page

Benaich, Nathan. “Is contracted power the same as operating AI capacity?.” State of AI Report 2026. Published 2026-10-08.