The Definitive Guide toAI Data Centers
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GuideGlossaryDepreciation

Depreciation

Spreading an asset's cost over its useful life; book life and economic life can differ and reshape reported margins.

Current numbers

~$12–13B/GW/yrrevenue per GW per year — the depreciation clock that makes time-from-rack-to-first-job a million-dollar-per-week metric (contested — single-source)as of 2026-06 · register ↗
5–6 yr book / 4–6 yr estimate / 2–3 yr bear caseGPU book life vs frontier-economic life — the depreciation fight the family choice feeds (CONTESTED)as of 2026 · register ↗
$12B/yr (3 yr) vs $7B/yr (7 yr); +~71%Guide-model depreciation sensitivity — 3-year annual TCO is ~71% above 7-year; useful-life evidence contestedas of 2026 · register ↗

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