TLDR:
- Compute Labs raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Protocol Labs, bringing its fully diluted token valuation to $30 million.
- They are developing a Solana-based GPU tokenization protocol focused on making it possible for everyone to invest in compute.
In a recent article by Yogita Khatri on The Block, it was announced that Solana-based GPU tokenization protocol Compute Labs has successfully raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round. This round was led by Protocol Labs, with other notable investors including Blockchain Coinvestors, OKX Ventures, CMS Holdings, and more. The funding round, which began in March and closed in April, used a simple agreement for future tokens (SAFT) structure, resulting in a $30 million fully diluted token valuation for Compute Labs.
Compute Labs, founded by Albert Z, is focused on building a real-world asset tokenization protocol that centers on compute as its underlying asset. Compute, referring to the processing power of CPUs and GPUs, is considered a valuable commodity, especially in the age of artificial intelligence. The protocol aims to enable users to invest in high-performance GPUs like the NVIDIA H100 through GPU-NFTs (GNFTs), which are a hybrid token on Solana and provide ownership and yielding rights to the GPUs.
The Compute protocol is currently live on the Solana testnet and is expected to launch on the mainnet soon, with a public sale of GNFTs planned to follow. While initially launching on Solana, the protocol has future plans to expand to other blockchains such as NEAR and Monad. Incubated by NVIDIA Inception VC Alliance, Compute Labs receives support in the form of cost savings, discounted GPU supply, go-to-market assistance, and direct connections with NVIDIA business units and original equipment manufacturers.
Compute Labs, headquartered in Los Angeles and Seattle, is actively hiring across various functions and is in the process of raising a seed round at a higher valuation. With the successful pre-seed funding round and the development of their GPU tokenization protocol, Compute Labs is poised to make it more accessible for individuals to invest in compute resources and participate in the growing market of high-performance computing.
