"Eight nodes for AI dubbing": a co-sell call

Your brief. You are the Solutions Architect on a 40-minute video call, with your account executive (AE). The customer is Pellucid Media (fictional), a streaming service, represented by its VP of Engineering.

The AE's note before the call: "They want AI dubbing for their catalog: 12,000 hours of content. Budget around $2.5M. I think 8 HGX H100 nodes is the right deal."

Your goals:

1. Understand what they need and why now.
2. Give an honest view of the options.
3. Agree on a concrete next step.

Assumptions you may use:

• An 8-GPU H100 node costs $300,000 and draws about 10.2 kW. Delivery takes about 6 weeks.
• On-demand cloud H100 capacity costs about $2.50 per GPU-hour.
• Plan on 3-year depreciation.

Write the five questions you would ask in the first ten minutes, before you recommend anything. Then write the one number you would need to decide between owning GPUs and renting them.