AI GlossaryㅋInfrastructure and chips
Cloud
Someone else's computer that you rent. Most AI companies run their models on it, and the rent they pay is the industry's lifeblood.
In plain words
It's a way of using someone else's computers over the internet instead of owning your own. AWS (Amazon), Azure (Microsoft), and Google Cloud are the big three, and most AI companies train and run their models here instead of building their own data centers.
The AI industry's lifeblood flows through this rent — the massive investment deals between OpenAI and Microsoft, or Anthropic and Amazon/Google, are in large part also "cloud usage rights" agreements. That's why "cloud revenue growth" in Big Tech earnings reports is read as a signal of AI demand.
See also
Stories using this term
- Anthropic Releases Claude Sonnet 5.5AI · 2026.09.29
- Google Launches Live Avatar, a Video Avatar for Gemini 3.8 LiveAI · 2026.09.25
- Anthropic Launches Claude Opus 5.5AI · 2026.09.23
- Google opens cyber defense AI to governments and enterprises through Fairwind ProgramAI · 2026.09.03
- OpenClaw 2.0 automates setup, adds shared cloud sessionsAI · 2026.09.01
- NVIDIA's rumored $12.9 billion Hugging Face deal, and the math behind an 86x revenue multipleBusiness · 2026.08.27