top of page

THE CONTROL ROOM
Where strategic experience meets the future of innovation.


Year 6 Survival Model: AI Data Center Investment Risk and Why Lease Duration Breaks the Math
What happens when a 5-year lease sits on 30-year infrastructure? The Year 6 Survival Model exposes the AI data center investment risk no one is pricing.
Tony Grayson
23 minutes ago14 min read


OpenAI Advertising in ChatGPT: What Sam Altman's "Last Resort" Reveals About AI Unit Economics
OpenAI Advertising: OpenAI announces ChatGPT ads after Sam Altman called advertising "uniquely unsettling." AI infrastructure expert Tony Grayson analyzes what this signals for the $5 trillion AI bubble and data center investors.
Tony Grayson
2 days ago26 min read


AI Nuclear Investment Risk: The Rickover Test for SMR Hype
AI Nuclear Investment Risk is real: NuScale failed, TerraPower slipped 5-7 years, HALEU doesn't exist. Tony Grayson's Rickover Test before you deploy capital.
Tony Grayson
Jan 1515 min read


AI Infrastructure Financing Risks: What JLL's 2026 Data Center Outlook Missed
Former submarine commander analyzes AI infrastructure financing risks in JLL's 2026 outlook: $870B debt, GPU-backed loans, no secondary market for collateral.
Tony Grayson
Jan 1219 min read


NVIDIA Vera Rubin Cooling: Why 45°C Warm Water Means No Chillers Needed
Tony Grayson analyzes Jensen Huang's CES 2026 bombshell: NVIDIA Vera Rubin runs on 45°C warm water. No chillers needed. The era of total refrigeration is over.
Tony Grayson
Jan 99 min read


What Is the Dolphin Code? Why Submariners Are the Original Corporate Trolls
Former submarine commander Tony Grayson decodes the Navy's Dolphin Code—the secret sarcasm signals proving submariners are the original corporate trolls.
Tony Grayson
Dec 29, 20259 min read


Is Your GPU Debt a Stranded Asset? Inside NVIDIA's $20B Groq Pivot
NVIDIA’s $20B Groq deal reveals a massive GPU Stranded Asset risk. Ex-Oracle SVP Tony Grayson breaks down Inference Economics and the $1.4T OpenAI threat.
Tony Grayson
Dec 26, 202518 min read


Is Nvidia the Next Cisco? The 25-Year Warning Explained
Nvidia vs Cisco: Why a former submarine commander and Oracle SVP thinks AI infrastructure is heading for utility economics. The bear case isn't collapse—it's compression.
Tony Grayson
Dec 24, 202519 min read


The Hidden Stack: The Real Truth About AI Infrastructure Spending (And Why It’s Not on the Charts)
Why do marketing charts show Open Source at only 11% market share when adoption is over 70%? The answer lies in the "Hidden Stack." This post analyzes the real trends in AI infrastructure spending, why the shift from Training to Inference is exploding, and why the smart money is moving from software licenses to megawatts.
Tony Grayson
Dec 15, 20259 min read


The Great Lie: The Illusion of Control in Leadership and Why We Sacrifice Today
"We often talk about the 'what' and the 'how' of strategy and execution. But we rarely pause to reflect on the 'why.' In the quiet moments between the chaos, this is what matters most. It’s not just about building a legacy in the industry; it’s about honoring the people who support you while you build it.
Tony Grayson
Dec 14, 20259 min read


Training vs. Inference: The $300B AI Shift Everyone is Missing
The market is missing the $300B shift from AI Training to Inference. Discover why "bit barns" are out and how the shift to edge infrastructure turns the "cash burn" of models into a recurring revenue engine.
Tony Grayson
Dec 13, 202510 min read


Nuclear for Data Centers: Why the Gen IV SMR Timeline is 2035
Why is Nuclear for Data Centers delayed? We analyze the engineering reality of the SMR timeline, including ASME code testing, thermal creep, and HALEU shortages. Discover the realistic 2035 roadmap.
Tony Grayson
Dec 11, 202511 min read


Why the Difference Between AI and AGI is Like Confusing Fire with Fusion
We explain the difference between AI and AGI using a simple analogy: why today's AI is just a 'campfire' of pattern matching, not the 'nuclear fusion' of true thought.
Tony Grayson
Dec 10, 202513 min read


The Internet Runs on Faith: Why Physical Infrastructure Vulnerability is the Real Security Gap
Data center security is an illusion. Discover why physical infrastructure vulnerability, from Ashburn's conduits to subsea cables, is the real threat to global uptime.
Tony Grayson
Dec 9, 202512 min read


We Are All Submariners Now: Tactical Edge Computing & The Forward Deployed Data Center
From Replicator to MDO, Tony Grayson (former submarine Commander) discusses why modern units must operate in GPS-denied zones. Northstar Enterprise & Defense delivers the ruggedized Tactical Edge Computing needed for 'Zero Reach Back' warfare.
Tony Grayson
Dec 8, 202514 min read


3 Essential Military Leadership Skills Veterans Teach the Civilian Sector: The Model of Moral Courage
Veterans teach 3 vital military leadership skills business lacks: Shared Accountability, Systemic Clarity, and Moral Courage. Tony Grayson (former submarine Commander) discusses the HRO model for success in high-stakes tech.
Tony Grayson
Dec 7, 202511 min read


Nuclear Submarine Bridge Watch: A Commander's Glimpse of Serenity in the Silent Service
See a Nuclear Submarine Bridge Watch in action. Tony Grayson (a former Submarine Commander) reveals the operational serenity found on the bridge and the discipline required for high-stakes transits.
Tony Grayson
Dec 6, 20258 min read


From Parameters to Physics: Why Watts per Token is the Only Metric for Industrial AI
The Software Era is over. Tony Grayson (former SVP Oracle) why Watts per Token is the new KPI for Industrial AI, and why SMR delays demand a Gas Bridge solution now.
Tony Grayson
Dec 5, 202512 min read


The Impossible Kitchen: Submarine Food Logistics and the Zero-Downtime Morale Policy
What do submariners actually eat? Tony Grayson (A former Submarine Commander) reveals the truth about "Hamsters," "Mid-Rats," and why crews have to literally walk on their submarine food.
Tony Grayson
Dec 2, 202510 min read


From Submarine Commander to AI Executive: The Physics of Zero-Defect Leadership
Tony Grayson's (A Former Submarine Commander) Guide to Zero-Defect Leadership. Apply nuclear safety rigor and zero-downtime discipline to your AI infrastructure strategy.
Tony Grayson
Dec 1, 20259 min read
bottom of page