AI is Killing Innovation. That Has to Change.

Part 4 of 4

Democratizing Intelligence

I’ve been fortunate to be at the frontlines of AI innovation, helping launch the first AI research lab in Japan; as one of the leaders of AI infrastructure at Apple; delivering vital compute resources at Lambda; and now once again as a founder myself. So, I get it – the complexity can feel overwhelming and be stifling to innovation. That’s why my colleagues and I have launched the Compute Exchange.

Our aim is nothing short of injecting clarity, competition and trust into a system that’s overdue for change. The Compute Exchange is an open, neutral platform where buyers and sellers meet on equal terms, with transparency baked in from the start. Here’s how it works:

• Market-Driven Pricing: Like a stock or derivatives market, we use digital auctions to ensure prices reflect real demand, not arbitrary premiums. Buyers bid, suppliers compete. Prices drop or rise to where they should be. Our novel matching algorithm concentrates liquidity across a variety of heterogeneous elements to enable a powerful, performant exchange.?

• Standardization, Utilization and Seamless Migration: No more dealing with multiple different terms of service (we have just one across all providers), or varying policies when it comes to resale, data egress costs, and more. We are building towards one open standard for global computing that will drive utilization rates up and complexity way down.. In turn, we’ll enable seamless live workload migration across different providers to make it even easier for you to have true optionality.
• Flexibility and Risk Mitigation: Whether you need compute for a week or a year, you only pay for what you need – and you can resell unused capacity. Over time, we’ll also enable risk management through derivatives products that let buyers ”hedge” their compute needs. Think of it like a "compute battery" that you can charge up and down seamlessly when you need more compute or want to offload capacity.??

• Governance: Access to compute isn’t just about tech. It’s about policy, too. That’s why we’re working to create a self-regulated market with global interoperability and quality standards. Over time, this self-governing system will enable us to provide the first objective quality rating for compute (akin to a Moody’s scorecard).

• Sustainability: Given the voracious energy consumption required for compute, we’re also bringing sustainability into the equation. Buyers can see the environmental impact of their compute and choose carbon-efficient/carbon offset options.

• Public Policy: We advocate for policies that prohibit data egress fees, mandate interoperability standards and support public-private partnerships to ensure equitable access to compute. By collaborating with lawmakers, industry leaders and researchers, Compute Exchange seeks to create a fairer, more open AI ecosystem. Imagine players big and small getting a chance to benefit from the $500B Stargate project.?

We’re at an inflection point. We can move forward with the biased, black-box approach to compute and stifle inspiration and innovation. Or we can do what entrepreneurs do best: bring Darwinian market forces to this system, where innovation thrives because competition drives prices down, quality up, and progress forward. This is why I see DeepSeek as a call for more competition and innovation, and Stargate as an opportunity for OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle to provide massive computing resources to the entire American AI ecosystem, not just themselves.?

If we are to realize the transformational potential of AI for our world, a neutral, transparent market isn’t just a business solution. It’s a responsibility and an imperative. Remember, the more we can decrease the price of intelligence’s complements – compute and data – the faster AI will spread and the more impactful it will be.?

Whether you’re a compute buyer or seller, a researcher, or someone who believes that innovation shouldn’t be brokered by a select few…join us. Sign up for our waitlist and ask us for a demo. Together, we can build the infrastructure for the future of intelligence.

Read the whole four-part series in its entirety here: https://compute.exchange/manifesto/.