Second Order opens its AI infrastructure research desk to media ahead of big-tech earnings
MEDIA NOTE
Free, sourced explainers on who gets paid in the AI build-out, and a named source for journalists covering chips, memory, neoclouds, hyperscaler capex and data-center power
SINGAPORE, 13 October 2026 — Second Order by TKN (sotkn.com) is a research desk on the AI infrastructure trade. It looks one step past the headline company to map who else gets paid: the memory makers, the packaging lines, the rented GPU fleets, the landlords and the power suppliers behind hyperscaler spending.
The desk publishes four kinds of free material:
- The Wire, a free daily five-minute brief: one dated number with its source, who invoices and who waits, and the next date that would prove the read wrong.
- Explained, mechanism explainers on parts of the stack such as high-bandwidth memory, TPUs and GPUs, cash capex, and how long it takes to build an AI data center.
- The Stack, a dated status board showing which of nine layers of the AI trade is tightening, stable or loosening, and what would flip each one.
- Markets, the same stack by country, including Taiwan, Korea, the US, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia.
Paid Analysis pieces sit alongside these.
Every page follows published editorial standards:
- primary sources first: company filings, regulators and grid operators
- numbers carry a date
- each claim is labeled Reported, Guided, Our calculation or Our read
- Explained pages show when they were last reviewed and what would trigger the next review
- corrections are noted on the page
Second Order does not publish tip sheets, buy or sell calls, or price targets.
Ahead of the third-quarter results from Microsoft and Alphabet, both confirmed for 28 October 2026, Second Order has published a free explainer: Which hyperscaler capex lines to watch this earnings season, and who gets paid down the chain. It sets out six lines in hyperscaler results and which suppliers each line pays:
- cash paid for property and equipment
- finance leases
- leases signed but not yet started
- kit received but not yet paid for
- rented third-party capacity
- the full-year guide
The figures come from each company's filings and earnings calls, with dates.
Sean writes Second Order by TKN, a research desk on the AI infrastructure trade. Sean is available to journalists for background or on-the-record comment on:
- AI chips and accelerators
- HBM and memory supply
- advanced packaging
- neoclouds
- hyperscaler capex
- AI Data Centers and power
His comments stay on industry structure and supply chains. He doesn't give stock calls.
Links
- Explainer: sotkn.com/explained/hyperscaler-capex-lines-to-watch/
- Press page: sotkn.com/press/
- Editorial standards: sotkn.com/editorial-standards/
- The Wire: sotkn.com/the-wire/
About Second Order by TKN
Second Order by TKN is a research desk on the AI trade: AI, semiconductors and investment insights. It maps who else gets paid when the AI build-out spends (memory, packaging, rented GPUs, hyperscaler capex, power, and the markets that supply them) and writes down what would change each view. It publishes the free daily Wire, Explained, The Stack, Markets, and paid Analysis. Second Order is made by TKN, the team behind The Kopi Notes. It is education, not investment advice. Learn more at sotkn.com.
Media contact
Second Order by TKN media inquiries
[email protected]
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