Dylan Patel said that if he spends "a trillion dollars today on you know AI data center and GPUs" (09:55) and assumes a straight line, "over the 6 years I need to call it 1.5 trillion of revenue so $250 billion of revenue a year for that trillion dollars of capex", or else a sloped payback (10:09 to 10:25).

The exact words it rests on

(09:55) So if I spend a trillion dollars today on you know AI data center and GPUs ... (10:09) either I could assume it's a straight line right so then over the 6 years I need to call it 1.5 trillion of revenue so $250 billion of revenue a year for that trillion dollars of capex or it's going to be something sloped

What the source said when we opened it, on 11 Oct 2026.

The source

Can AI Keep Growing Exponentially? Let's Ask SemiAnalysis, With Dylan Patel and Jordan Nanos
Alex Kantrowitz (Big Technology) · 2026-10-09

Open the sourcearchived copy

Checked

Checked by the notis newsroom on 11 Oct 2026, against the source above.

In the story

SemiAnalysis's Patel: a trillion in AI capex needs $250 billion of revenue a year 11 Oct 2026

Said aloud in a video: the quote, word for word.