This chapter details how Ahmad Shaddeed founded IONET, a company specializing in clustering GPUs from various locations to facilitate high-performance computing. It explores the innovation behind utilizing old mining rigs and modifying the REI framework, showcasing the importance of GPU clustering for AI training and the complexities involved in developing this technology.
io.net is a distributed training and inference project built on Solana. They aim to solve the problem of the GPU shortage in the AI industry by building a decentralized network that connects underutilized GPUs from multiple sources. Ionet uses clustering technology to combine GPUs from different geographic locations, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective AI compute. They are attracting both web2 and web3 customers, with a focus on inferencing, which makes up the majority of the market. The goal is to decentralize the AI ecosystem and prevent big tech companies from controlling all aspects of AI. io.net is a decentralized AI network that provides GPU compute power for AI workloads. They are focused on solving the compute aspect of decentralized AI and offer a network of choice for users to perform inference, fine-tuning, and training. The team is driven by a sense of urgency and executes quickly, following operational best practices. They have a disciplined go-to-market approach, targeting Series A to seed-generated AI companies. io.net aims to be the currency at the center of decentralized AI and is exploring the possibility of building a decentralized model marketplace and expanding into other areas like gaming and zero knowledge.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Ionet
01:03 Solving the GPU Shortage
13:24 Attracting Web2 and Web3 Customers
27:51 Building a Decentralized Model Marketplace
29:47 The Role of Crypto in Incentivizing Participants
32:37 Easy Onboarding for GPU Workers
34:00 Organic Demand and Onboarding Sales Process
37:20 Choice and Flexibility in Compute Options
43:22 Conquering the Three Key Stakeholders in Decentralized AI
Disclosures
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