# Neocloud vs hyperscaler: what's the difference?

A neocloud is a GPU-first cloud whose product is rented AI compute, independent of AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle. A hyperscaler is a general-purpose cloud at global scale where AI compute is one product of many. Source: https://registry.deploy.report/neocloud-vs-hyperscaler

## Dimension by dimension

| Dimension | Neocloud | Hyperscaler |
|---|---|---|
| What it sells | AI compute itself: GPU/accelerator time, rented to third parties. | A broad platform (compute, storage, database, networking); AI is one product of many. |
| GPU-first? | Yes; the fleet and data-center design exist for accelerated AI workloads. | No; general-purpose fleets, GPU capacity is a segment in a much larger estate. |
| Independence | Independent of AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle. | Is one of them, or operates at that scale and scope. |
| Capacity model | Dedicated AI data-center capacity, often single-tenant clusters. | Massive multi-tenant regions serving every workload class. |
| Examples | CoreWeave, Lambda, Crusoe, Nebius, and the Asian operators. | AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud. |

## A neocloud IS

- GPU / AI-accelerator-first: compute is the product, not incidental to another business.
- Rents that compute to third parties (not solely for its own workloads).
- Independent of the hyperscalers (not AWS / Azure / Google Cloud / Oracle).
- Operates or contracts dedicated AI data-center capacity (a real physical footprint).

## A neocloud is NOT

- Hyperscalers (general cloud at scale; AI is one product of many).
- Pure colocation / REITs (sell space + power, not compute).
- Enterprise self-builders that do not rent (xAI, Meta, Tesla for own use).
- AI labs that do not resell compute, and brokers/aggregators with no capacity of their own.

## Border cases

- CoreWeave is a neocloud, not a hyperscaler: scale alone does not make a hyperscaler; selling a general-purpose platform does.
- Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and Oracle are hyperscalers, not neoclouds. A neocloud is defined partly by being independent of these four.
- Full operator-class taxonomy and roster: https://registry.deploy.report/neoclouds