CoreWeave/NVIDIA and Oracle/TikTok: Two Stories, One Message for the Supply Chain

by Brad Gastwirth Global Head of Research and Market Intelligence

Quick and Dirty: Two recent developments highlight the shifting dynamics of enterprise compute:

CoreWeave’s expanded partnership with NVIDIA underscores the rise of specialized cloud providers and the continued scarcity of GPUs.

Reports of Oracle’s potential role in supporting TikTok’s U.S. operations illustrate how regulation and infrastructure are becoming inseparable.

Both stories carry a common message: the global supply chain for GPUs, memory, substrates, networking, and storage remains under strain, with new entrants competing for already limited capacity.

CoreWeave & NVIDIA: Specialized Clouds Gain Ground

CoreWeave has deepened its partnership with NVIDIA, securing access to the GPUs required for AI training and inference workloads. Unlike the major hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP, Meta), CoreWeave focuses on high-performance compute tailored to specific verticals like healthcare, financial services, and media.

Why this matters: GPU lead times remained stretched, and specialized players like CoreWeave are getting preferential access.

Impact: This expands the competitive landscape. Hyperscalers must now fight not only each other but also specialized providers for constrained resources.

Supply chain takeaway: Pressure intensifies on HBM3/4 memory, advanced substrates, and backend packaging capacity (CoWoS at TSMC/ASE)—the real bottlenecks behind every GPU shipment.

Oracle & TikTok: Policy Meets Infrastructure

Reports suggest Oracle could play a role in enabling TikTok to continue operating in the U.S., though no final structure has been confirmed. Oracle already hosts U.S. TikTok data under Project Texas, making it a natural candidate for any expansion.

Why this matters: If Oracle scales infrastructure for TikTok, it would accelerate its shift from a “second-tier” cloud provider into hyperscaler territory.

Impact: Supporting TikTok at scale would require rapid investment in compute clusters, high-capacity storage, and high-throughput networking.

Supply chain takeaway: Even the possibility of this move highlights the growing overlap between regulation, national security, and hyperscaler procurement cycles. Another large buyer entering the market tightens already limited supply of SSDs/HDDs and 400G/800G networking equipment.

What This Means for the Supply Chain

Both developments point to the same underlying challenge: demand is no longer the question—allocation is.

  • GPUs & HBM Memory: Hyperscalers and specialized providers like CoreWeave are competing head-to-head for allocations, with HBM3/4 effectively sold out through 2026.
  • Substrates & Packaging: The battle for CoWoS and advanced substrates continues, with no near-term relief.
  • Storage & Networking: Oracle’s potential TikTok expansion would pull incremental demand for storage and networking into an already stretched system.
  • Policy Overlay: Deals tied to regulation (TikTok) or vertical specialization (CoreWeave) show that component allocation isn’t just about technical demand—it’s increasingly about strategic positioning.

Bottom Line

CoreWeave’s deal with NVIDIA and Oracle’s possible TikTok involvement may look unrelated on the surface, but together they signal the same reality: every new player at scale puts more strain on an already bottlenecked supply chain.

At Circular Technology, we’re tracking how these moves shape supply and allocation across GPUs, memory, substrates, storage, and networking helping clients anticipate where the next pinch points will emerge.