GPUaaS vs. the Token Factory: When AI Infrastructure Stops Renting GPUs and Starts Manufacturing Intelligence
The first generation of AI clouds monetized scarce accelerators by the GPU-hour. The next generation is moving higher in the stack, selling the output of those accelerators as tokens, requests and agentic workflows. That transition changes who carries utilization risk, how infrastructure is financed, how software creates margin—and eventually why the cost of the megawatt underneath the GPU may become one of the industry's most durable competitive advantages.