Public Trust Is Infrastructure: Schwab Network Features Column CEO Megan Villanueva on CoreWeave’s Earnings

Column.us CEO Megan Villanueva returned to Schwab Network on November 11 to discuss CoreWeave's third-quarter results, and the question the market's celebration left open: is all this AI computing power delivering value for the people at the end of the chain?

CoreWeave, one of the largest builders of AI data centers, rents computing power to the companies building AI models. Its Q3 report gave investors plenty to cheer: revenue of $3.66 billion, up 168% year over year, a raised full-year outlook and a $132.5 billion backlog. The stock rose 26% on the day.

On Schwab Network's Trading 360, hosted by Marley Kayden, Villanueva agreed the demand is real. Then she turned the conversation to the question a product leader asks: what will it take to turn that demand into lasting value?

A backlog is a promise, not a paycheck

CoreWeave's backlog grew from last quarter, and Villanueva was clear that it signals real appetite for AI computing.

“CoreWeave's $132.5 billion backlog is impressive,” she said. “It tells us, yes, that the demand of AI companies [is] real.”

But a backlog is made of contracts, and contracts are not yet revenue. “Those contracts still need to be delivered, powered and paid for,” Villanueva said. “The revenue requires the execution of these data centers.”

That execution depends on land, electricity, water, permits and construction timelines — and, increasingly, on whether the communities hosting these facilities support them.

Public trust is now infrastructure

Data centers became a real issue in this month's midterm elections, as communities raised concerns about electricity demand, water use, utility bills and the incentives offered to developers.

Villanueva sees that reaction as a business signal, not background noise. “Public trust is now an infrastructure requirement for these AI companies,” she said, “and not simply a PR issue.”

What communities are asking for is information. “People want clear public information about power, water, cost and benefits,” Villanueva said. “That does put an additional requirement on companies like CoreWeave to provide that transparency.”

The more capacity the industry builds, the more communities it touches. Strong quarters like CoreWeave's raise the stakes on transparency, rather than lowering them.

The real test is at the end of the chain

CoreWeave's demand comes mostly from other AI companies. Those companies use the computing power to build products, and those products eventually reach people and businesses. If those end users find enough value to keep paying, the whole chain holds.

That's why, for Villanueva, the next few years matter more than any single quarter. CoreWeave's backlog is expected to “transition over into revenue over the next two to four years,” she said. “We actually need to see: Is this demand sustained over that time period?”

The deeper question is whether AI is delivering for the customers of the companies buying compute. “Are the AI companies using that compute, using that capacity, actually driving outcomes for their own customers,” Villanueva asked, “instead of checking a box saying, okay, we're implementing AI? How is it actually serving the outcomes for those businesses?”

It's the same lens she brings to the role of CEO at Column.us as a product leader: validate that something delivers real value before pouring more resources into it, and account for everyone it affects along the way.

What this means for Column

The gap between signing a contract and capturing its value is one we think about every day.

When a newspaper or government partners with Column, the signed agreement is the beginning, not money in the bank. Our revenue comes when public notices actually flow through the platform: a law firm placing a probate notice, a county publishing a hearing, a newspaper moving its notice volume onto Column. We track that as capture rate — the share of a partner's notice volume that actually runs through Column. It's the measure that tells us whether a partnership is delivering value for the people using it.

That discipline shapes how we look at the AI boom, too. A big backlog and a signed contract both say demand exists. Only usage, and outcomes for real customers, say the value is there.

Column's work sits at the center of public information. Data-center proposals move through zoning hearings, permits and public notices published in local newspapers — the same process Column supports every day. As our CEO put it, people want clear public information about power, water, cost and benefits. Helping communities find reliable information about decisions that affect them is exactly what public notice is for.

This builds on Villanueva's earlier Schwab Network appearance on NVIDIA's acquisition of Hugging Face and her KTVU 2 conversation on adopting AI responsibly.