AI Capex Supply Chain
a16z's sankey diagram drew 1M views on X: 14x its typical post and #6 of 43 a16z charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
Where does money invested into the AI buildout actually go?
Why it spread
It spread because the post paired a clear $100 breakdown with a sankey chart, earning 4,687 likes, 870 reposts, 151 quotes, 4,197 saves, and 1,013,509 views, which is 14.1x the account's normal performance.
What worked
- The post uses a simple $100 framing that makes the AI capex flow easy to grasp at a glance.
- The sankey chart is an unusual form for this topic and is highly polished and self labelling, which helped it stand out.
- The account is branded and shows a source line, and the post landed in the top quarter for source reach with an above average quote rate.
What to borrow
We could turn our own spend or flow data into a single $100 or 100 unit breakdown and show it as a sankey or similar flow chart, with clear labels and a source line.
Careful
Do not over-read the quote rate or the unusual chart type as the only cause, and do not copy the exact numbers or the branded source without checking our own data.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by a16z.
Make it yours
Your numbers, in this table chart.
Starts from the real numbers of "Illustrative $100 Capex Across the Supply Chain" by a16z. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
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API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id f6a07a2bff35.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/f6a07a2bff35 | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/f6a07a2bff35/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/f6a07a2bff35/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/f6a07a2bff35/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from a16z
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Other giants using a sankey diagram
All 2
Questions people ask
How far did a16z's "AI Capex Supply Chain" chart travel?
1,013,509 views, 4,687 likes, 870 reposts and 4,197 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @a16z gets about 72.9K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A sankey diagram. Illustrating $100 AI capex flow across supply chain.
Can I use a16z's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to a16z. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.