A torrential downpour unleashed chaos in the market for stocks related to AI infrastructure, erasing billions of dollars in value. In a mere six - week span, the market capitalization of data center service provider CoreWeave took a nosedive, plummeting by a staggering $33 billion, which translates to a drop of over 60%. Similarly, both Broadcom and Oracle witnessed their stock prices take a significant hit, with declines exceeding 17% within just three trading days.

The summer's heavy rainfall and gale - force winds wreaked havoc on the construction schedule of one of CoreWeave's massive AI data center clusters, causing a delay of around 60 days. Moreover, some data centers encountered further setbacks due to design alterations. This led to the postponement of the delivery of computing clusters that were leased to OpenAI.

During an earnings call, the contradictory statements made by CoreWeave's CEO sent investors into a panic. As a result, the stock price plummeted by a whopping 16.3% in a single day. Adding to the company's woes, CoreWeave is currently operating at a loss and is saddled with heavy debt. The recently completed $2.25 billion convertible bond issuance has also introduced a new set of risks.

The company faced a double - whammy as it came under fire from well - known short sellers, and its rejection of acquisition offers further dented its stock price. The turmoil at CoreWeave serves as a stark reminder of the difficulties in achieving profitability from capital investments in the AI industry.

The concerns stemming from construction delays have now rippled across the entire sector. This has put multi - hundred - billion - dollar spending plans in jeopardy and sparked widespread market fears of an impending AI bubble.