- The non-profit Navigation Fund, linked to crypto figure Jed McCaleb, invested $500 million into AI chips through its subsidiary Voltage Park.
- Voltage Park plans to offer the 24,000 Nvidia H100 chips in a cloud rental service starting in 2024, increasing access to scarce AI computing.
- Voltage Park enters a competitive AI chip rental space but its large upfront investment into the scarce chips could give it an advantage.
A non-profit organization with ties to notable cryptocurrency figure Jed McCaleb recently made a large investment into AI chips with plans to rent access to other companies. This rental model aims to provide more widespread access to the scarce AI computing resources.
Details on Voltage Park’s Massive Chip Purchase
The AI chip startup called Voltage Park purchased 24,000 Nvidia H100 chips valued at $500 million. Voltage Park intends to offer the chips in a cloud rental service when they are deployed around February 2024. The service will provide both long-term and short-term rental options to give more companies access to the powerful AI chips.
Voltage Park’s Connection to Jed McCaleb
Although not directly involved, Voltage Park is a wholly owned subsidiary of the non-profit Navigation Fund started by Stellar’s co-founder Jed McCaleb. As a result, all profits from Voltage Park’s chip rental service will go to McCaleb’s non-profit organization. McCaleb is a notable figure in cryptocurrency as the co-founder of Stellar, Ripple, and the early bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.
Competition in the AI Chip Rental Space
Voltage Park enters an AI chip rental space with some existing big players like Google Cloud and Nvidia but also faces potential future competition from crypto firms. For instance, Tether recently partnered with a bitcoin mining company to offer AI chip access. However, Voltage Park’s large upfront investment into the scarce chips could give the startup an advantage.
Conclusion
In summary, Voltage Park’s $500 million purchase of Nvidia chips aims to make AI computing power more available through a rental model. The link to Jed McCaleb and his non-profit organization Navigation Fund also represents a crossover between cryptocurrency and AI computing resources. It remains to be seen how competitive Voltage Park’s rental service will be when launched.
