Here is what you pay for when you pay for AI. Not software. A building, power, cooling and machines somebody bought with other people's money.
Fact
The facts: on 11 August 2026 NVIDIA described an approach in which AI factories are financed as productive infrastructure, with repeatable platforms and long term institutional capital. The stated goal is to mobilise over $500 billion of third party capital, and the institutions listed include Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR. NVIDIA states residual value support of up to 25% per project. In the same publication, hourly H100 rental moves from $1.70 in October 2025 to $2.35 in March 2026, and cloud pricing for B200 sits between $5.30 and $7.05 per GPU hour.
I am watching the staging. When the maker of the machines guarantees part of their residual value, it is not selling machines. It is taking risk off the bank so the bank is comfortable financing the buyer.
The number you will feel is not 500 billion. It is the price of an hour.
And it is rising. From $1.70 to $2.35 in five months on the most wanted card. If you are costing a project that runs on rented compute, put that slope in the model.
Official primary sources
NVIDIA Blog - AI Factory Compute Is Becoming an Investable Asset ClassThe visual is generated code-art, no third-party images.