Compute Exchange Launches to Transform How AI Compute is Bought and Sold

Industry-first platform will bring transparency and efficiency to the AI compute market, establishing the foundation for a new compute economy

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Compute Exchange today announced the world’s first open exchange for GPUs and other forms of compute resources, addressing the needs of both buyers and sellers in the dynamic and rapidly growing AI compute market. The platform ensures mutual benefits for both parties by fostering fairness with real-time price discovery, standardized contracts, and flexible purchasing. Through an auction-based system, the exchange connects buyers and sellers on equal terms, creating a transparent environment for compute trading designed to drive innovation and broaden access to critical AI infrastructure.

Simeon Bochev, co-founder and CEO of Compute Exchange and former Apple and Lambda Labs executive, has been at the forefront of the compute market driving innovation since its early days. The company is also co-founded by Don Wilson and is backed by DRW, the diversified global trading firm at which Wilson is founder and CEO. Wilson has made a career of pioneering new markets from scratch, and was a key player in the modernization and democratization of derivatives trading. Woodside AI, the venture studio founded by Suna Said, also played a vital role in co-founding and backing the company. The team’s breadth of expertise uniquely positions them to solve the market’s inefficiencies and create a competitive, inclusive future for AI-driven industries.

Fueled by the AI revolution, compute is expected to become the world’s largest commodity in a few short years. However, the GPU compute market is currently dominated by just a handful of players, leaving the majority of the market with limited options. As demand for GPUs and accelerated compute increase, those fortunate enough to have access must still accept unfair terms, including opaque pricing and inflexible long-term contracts that make it difficult to scale. By 2030, AI-related compute could account for upwards of 9% of the U.S. energy grid, and as demand for AI and machine learning grows, control over compute resources is likely to lead to a monopoly, stifling innovation.

“We’re putting an end to the stranglehold that a few companies have over compute access because fostering innovation requires fairness and openness,” said Bochev. “By standardizing GPU resources and enabling open access, we’re not only preventing inflated costs for buyers, but also promoting more efficient resource use at a time when AI supercomputers are projected to demand gigawatt-scale power supplies in the next four years.”

“As more compute is used during inference and consumed asynchronously, it will become increasingly amenable to commoditization,” said Edward Hu, a partner at Woodside AI and early contributor to OpenAI’s GPT-o1. “Compute Exchange will help facilitate the next phase of compute distribution responsibly and effectively.”

Key value points of the platform include:

• Democratization of Intelligence: A neutral exchange where many sellers and buyers compete through real-time price discovery, transforming compute from a controlled resource into an openly traded asset. This results in a more equitable & efficient allocation of the “picks and shovels” of AI, stimulating innovation.
• Market-Driven Pricing: An auction-based system ensures prices are driven by actual market demand rather than controlled by a few providers.
• Standardized Contracts: One universal set of terms for all market participants, simplifying contract negotiations while also pursuing standardization across multiple dimensions, including contracts, software, migration, and more.
• Flexible Purchasing: Buyers pay only for what they need, with the option to resell unused capacity, ensuring efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Governance: A self-regulated exchange with global interoperability and quality standards, ensuring consistent performance and trust.
• Sustainability: By creating an efficient and less wasteful market, participants not only get reliable access to the cleanest solutions, but also visibility into the environmental impact of compute resources. This includes full transparency around emissions, a range of carbon-efficient options, and a number of offset programs.

Compute Exchange is already used by dozens of market participants, including Gcore, Nebius and Voltage Park.

“The lack of compute resources is a major barrier for democratizing AI,” said Sanjay Shakkottai, director, Center for Generative AI at UT Austin. “Platforms that enable anyone to easily gain access to compute resources will be crucial in bridging this barrier.”

“Compute Exchange will help increase transparency and efficiency in the market, which is good for the market and good for compute providers,” said Arkady Volozh, founder and CEO of Nebius. “We built Nebius to be one of the most efficient players in the space – with Compute Exchange we can deliver compute power to a broader market on fair terms, making it more accessible, and maximize the potential of our capacity, which helps grow our business.”

Compute Exchange will be holding a large auction for both providers and buyers of compute resources on February 25th. Register at compute.exchange.

Visuals including executive headshots supporting the announcement are available here.

About Compute Exchange

Compute Exchange is the world’s first open exchange for compute. Benefiting both buyers and sellers, the exchange empowers enterprises, startups, researchers and others by providing seamless access to compute power. Through a transparent exchange, we enable real-time price discovery, standardized contracts, and flexible options for buying and reselling compute resources. Additionally, the platform is unique in providing insights into carbon-efficient choices, contributing to sustainability goals. By connecting a diverse ecosystem of buyers and sellers, Compute Exchange transforms how compute resources are accessed and traded globally. Compute Exchange is headquartered in Palo Alto. For more information, reach us at contact@compute.exchange.

Contacts

Marketing Contact Info
erin.lockhart@aircoverpr.com