AI Firm CoreWeave Denies Contract Cancellations with Microsoft

FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
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AI Firm CoreWeave Denies Contract Cancellations with Microsoft

FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is pictured on a store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

IPO-bound AI cloud startup CoreWeave said on Thursday it had not seen any contract cancellations after the Financial Times reported that the company's largest customer Microsoft had moved away from some agreements.

"We pride ourselves in our client partnerships and there have been no contract cancellations or walking away from commitments. Any claim to the contrary is false and misleading," a CoreWeave spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

The FT had reported, citing sources, that Microsoft withdrew from some of its agreements with CoreWeave over delivery issues and missed deadlines. However, the report also said that Microsoft retained a number of ongoing contracts with CoreWeave and it remained an important partner.

The agreement with Microsoft accounted for 62% of CoreWeave's revenue, or $1.2 billion in total, in 2024, according to a company filing.

The startup had warned that any negative changes in demand from Microsoft or a shift in company' relationship with Microsoft would adversely affect its business.

Founded in 2017, Nvidia-backed CoreWeave provides access to data centers and high-powered chips for AI workloads and competes against cloud providers such as Microsoft's Azure and Amazon's AWS.

CoreWeave has been laying the groundwork for a New York flotation at a valuation of over $35 billion, in what could be one of the biggest IPOs in recent times. It is also likely targeting to raise over $3 billion from its share sale, Reuters has previously reported.



Apple’s China Smartphone Shipments Slide 9% in First Quarter

The Apple logo is seen at a mall in the financial district of Shanghai on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
The Apple logo is seen at a mall in the financial district of Shanghai on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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Apple’s China Smartphone Shipments Slide 9% in First Quarter

The Apple logo is seen at a mall in the financial district of Shanghai on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
The Apple logo is seen at a mall in the financial district of Shanghai on April 14, 2025. (AFP)

Apple's shipments of smartphones in China slumped 9% in the first quarter from a year earlier and it was the only major manufacturer to see a decline, according to data from research firm IDC.

Apple, which ranks fifth in China's smartphone market, saw shipments fall to 9.8 million phones, giving it a market share of 13.7%, down from 17.4% in the previous quarter.

It was Apple's seventh straight quarter of decline.

By contrast, market leader Xiaomi saws its shipments surge 40% to 13.3 million while industry-wide shipments grew 3.3%.

IDC analyst Will Wong said Apple's premium pricing structure has prevented the US company from capitalizing on new government subsidies introduced in January which fueled growth in the first quarter.

The government subsidies for smartphones and some other consumer electronics refund consumers 15% of products with a sticker price under 6,000 yuan ($820).