TCO · Total Cost of Ownership
The full lifetime cost of capacity, including capex amortization, power, cooling, staff and maintenance.
The all-in cost of running infrastructure over its life, not just the purchase price.
Also written as: Total Cost of Ownership
Current numbers
~$38B / ~$8.5B/yr1 GW AI data center: ~$38B up-front capex (servers ~$21.2/W incl. GPUs · facility ~$11.4/W · network ~$4.9/W, Epoch May-2026) and ~$8.5B/yr all-in TCO
$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 contested
~15–30%AMD price discount vs comparable NVIDIA SXM; inference effective-TCO gap → ~0/favorable