Forget Bitcoin: This startup pays for your extra GPU power to train AI on an open source network
Akash’s network of “GPUs for rent” could be a game changer for how computing resources are allocated to train tomorrow’s generative AI models.
Akash is a company that hopes to turn the whole idea of ββcloud computing on its head by giving customers the means to ditch big providers and instead turn to a decentralized market for computing resources.
Essentially, the company wants to open up the market so that anyone with powerful enough hardware can offer their computing resources in exchange for cash in the form of a token. In July of this year, $AKT was equal to $0.56.
Akash Supercloud for AI
The decentralized open source network works by matching potential customers with data center providers willing to lease their hardware, with Akash playing matchmaker.
Now the company has launched its Supercloud for AI platform, hosting Nvidia H100 and Nvdia A100 GPUs that power today’s most powerful generative AI systems. This is next to the best AMD GPUs and the best consumer-grade GPUs.
The Supercloud for AI upgrade β known as Mainnet 6 because it’s the sixth upgrade to the Mainnet network β will open up an open source marketplace for high-density GPUs.
Existing network providers, ranging from small carriers to hyperscalers themselves (should they want to participate), can now successfully offer their GPUs in addition to the computing resources they already offer.
βAs the network grows, it will only become more powerful, hosting increasing numbers of GPUs from providers around the world, while becoming an integrated part of the infrastructure that powers AI development,β the company said in a press release.
βIt is more important than ever that these challenges are addressed with a fully open source network β preventing control of these resources from being concentrated in the hands of a few large companies.
The biggest problem with the cloud market, according to Akash, is that it is dominated by a monopoly of four providers: Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Alibaba. The best cloud providers, the company claims, are overpriced, and many of their data centers end up being underutilized to some degree.
The most powerful GPUs have since been adopted by hyperscalers and large corporations, further consolidating their hold on the public cloud market.
Now that Akash has launched its Supercloud for AI GPU network, it could change the way AI models are trained in the future.