A company that aims to develop an “AI grid” that will make compute capacity more widely available, has attracted $1.3 billion in funding.
Amp, which is based in Menlo Park, California, is the brainchild of Anjney Midha, a tech entrepreneur who was previously a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Midha says Amp’s approach is required because so much of the computing power necessary for AI is being gobbled up by tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta and well-funded startups like OpenAI and Anthropic, who have repeatedly shown they are prepared to spend billions of dollars on AI data centers.
Where that leaves those without such deep pockets is Amp’s concern. Its aim is to acquire extra compute capacity from data center operators — in both the U.S. and further afield — and make it available to those who need it for their own AI projects, but can’t afford it.
This would be done by creating a pool of chips that could be used by those without extensive funding or resources, such as universities or small startups.
Amp is a public benefit corporation. Among those already intrigued by Midha’s vision are Andreessen Horowitz and startup incubator Y Combinator, which contributed to the funding.
“Some companies just can’t get the computing power they need. The world’s wealthiest and most powerful companies are hoarding the infrastructure for themselves,” as Midha told the New York Times, which, along with The Information, reported the funding.
In practical terms, Amp said it will used the funding to purchase capacity, which will be added to a pool made available to organizations or startups that choose to join the “coalition” the company is putting together.
The aim is to mirror the concept of an electrical grid, where power is shared among various customers.
Members of the coalition will also be encouraged to contribute funds, or, underscoring the collective nature of the enterprise, share other useful resources. These could be the data used to train models, or even the models themselves.
Among the founding grid members, according to Amp, are France’s Mistral, voice AI vendor ElevenLabs, and Germany’s Black Forest Labs, while the company is targeting a pool of 1.9 gigawatts over the next five years, with 200 megawatts online by the end of 2026.
Separately, Amp’s goal to ensure the benefits of AI are more widely distributed extends to the foundation of a public wealth fund, which will provide backing to local communities affected by the transition. Amp says it plans to put aside up to $500 million of Amp’s profits through 2030 for the fund.
