All paths
Merchant GPU
Custom XPU
Optical
How hyperscaler AI capex splits between merchant GPUs, custom silicon, and interconnect
One 2026 hyperscaler capex pool feeds three buy-paths - merchant GPU, custom XPU, optical interconnect - each with different terminal economics.
US cloud/AI capex pool 2026
≈ $660-700B guided · ~2x 2025
Merchant GPU
NVDA direct path
CUDA stack
GPU die
Blackwell · Rubin
Merchant GPUs
richest margin per capex $
risk rides NVDA roadmap
demand booked years out
Custom XPU
Broadcom · Marvell
custom dies
Custom XPU
hyperscaler
cost control
design-win-cyclical
Optical interconnect
Marvell path
PAM4 DSP
60-65% DSP share
pluggable module
Interconnect
capacity-constrained
scales with cluster size
not tied to one chip winner
rich margin
cost control
capacity-bound