Startup Seeks To Pool AI Compute Capacity Across Data Centers

A new artificial intelligence compute company is positioning itself as what its leaders describe as an independent system operator for AI compute resources. The approach draws from the model used by PJM Interconnect, which pools electricity capacity across the Northeast.

The company does not own data centers or graphics processing units directly. Instead it aggregates computing capacity from multiple cloud providers and allocates it to frontier research teams on demand. One comparison offered for the service is a dorm meal plan.

Many AI startups remain undersupplied with compute resources according to the company. The company estimates that idle floating-point operations inside independent AI labs range from 30 to 40 percent. It has structured its operations into two distinct businesses.

One is a venture arm that has secured billions of dollars in commitments and plans to announce them soon. The second business functions as a grid system that supplies portfolio companies with compute resources at cost. Any excess capacity is resold at a modest profit.

Thousands of chips are already operating in production through the company. Several hundred megawatts of additional capacity are scheduled to come online by the end of 2026. The company was founded by a former Andreessen Horowitz partner who left the firm to pursue the venture.

The founder continues to spend part of his time at Periodic Labs, an AI material science startup he helped incubate.

The founder appeared on the podcast ACCESS this week to discuss the company's plans in detail. The conversation was recorded from the offices of Periodic Labs. He had taught a Stanford computer science class earlier that day. The class has been referred to as AI Coachella because of its guest speakers.