Wang: AI startups negotiate 9-figure compute deals six months in
Sarah Wang · Inside AI’s $10B+ Capital Flywheel — Martin Casado & Sarah Wang of a16z · Feb 19, 2026 · at 2:36
a16z Growth Partner Sarah Wang explains how the sheer scale of compute needed by AI foundation startups requires early business development deals previously unseen at seed stages.
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“We talk about buying compute, but there's a huge negotiation involved there in terms of, okay, do you get equity for the compute? What sort of partner are you looking at? Is there a go-to-market? Arm to that. And these are just things on this scale, hundreds of millions, you know, maybe six months into the inception of a company, you just wouldn't have to negotiate these deals before.”
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