Ripple Co-founder's Nonprofit Steps Up to Counter AI Chip Shortage with Leasable Capacity
Summary:
The Navigation Fund, a nonprofit created by Ripple's co-founder, Jed McCaleb, is responding to the AI chip shortage by offering leasable capacity for large machine learning models through a new cloud launched on October 29. An affiliate, Voltage Park, will expand its services by early 2024, offering access to about 24,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs. With hardware valued at $500 million, clusters will be established in Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The Fund, set up in 2023, plans to provide grants and expand its programs in 2024, advocating for safe AI and other causes.
Navigation Fund, a nonprofit initiated by Ripple's co-founder, Jed McCaleb, is stepping up to address the scarcity of AI chips by leasing capacity to big machine learning models. On October 29, they inaugurated a novel cloud which would be available for hourly, monthly or extended duration use. As per their website statement, Voltage Park, an affiliate of Navigation Fund, presents unmediated access to high-volume users requiring top performance and has a view to enlarge its utility by the start of 2024. This organization houses roughly 24,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs configured in interconnected clusters, estimated at a whopping $500 million. The clusters will be established in Texas, Virginia, and Washington, disclosed Eric Park, CEO of Voltage Park, who joined the firm in July.
Currently, Voltage Park is hosting auctions for contracts ranging one-to-three months on 1,560 GPUs. The company further stated: “The cutting-edge ML compute market is in shambles. Start-ups, big AI labs and even researchers are desperate to acquire or hire the latest ML training chips... We're committed to making machine learning infrastructure available to all.”
Established in 2023, Navigation Fund intends to dispense a handful of grants this year, broadening its schemes by early next year. Apart from championing safe AI, the fund aims to promote a range of other causes.
McCaleb, before becoming the co-founder of Ripple Labs, formed Mt. Gox initially to trade Magic: The Gathering cards and subsequently converted it into a Bitcoin exchange before selling it in 2011. After parting ways from Ripple in disagreement with management, he co-founded Stellar blockchain. In 2022, he also initiated a space startup that collaborated with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Published At
10/30/2023 4:39:40 PM
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