Key Takeaways
- • Jasper Zhang, an ex-Citadel Securities quantitative researcher, leads Hyperbolic, a 50-person fintech startup building a spot marketplace for tradable GPU computing power, according to CNBC.
- • Hyperbolic has raised $20 million since its 2022 launch, is in the midst of another funding round, and expects a $150 million annualized run rate by year-end, with about 250,000 users and an estimated $200 million of annual GPU compute connected to its platform.
- • Zhang views Hyperbolic's spot platform as the first building block toward physically settled GPU futures, which would let investors hedge a decline in AI demand by trading the hardware itself.
- • CME Group's proposed cash-settled GPU futures, priced off an index maintained by Silicon Data, remain under CFTC review, with the review period extended to November 9.
- • Hyperbolic's leadership argues cash-settled contracts alone cannot address basis risk or put idle GPUs to work during a slowdown, a concern raised as CoreWeave shares declined sharply.
Summary
As CoreWeave shares fell sharply and dragged much of the AI complex lower, investors are looking for ways to hedge AI exposure. CNBC reports that Jasper Zhang, an ex-Citadel Securities quantitative researcher, runs Hyperbolic, a 50-person financial technology startup building a spot marketplace for GPU computing power. The platform lets traders buy and sell GPU clusters through its Forge software, which logs into clusters worldwide and makes technical adjustments so mismatched clusters work together, giving buyers control of the underlying hardware for their own purposes.
Zhang describes this capability as the foundation for physically settled GPU futures, which upon settlement would give contract holders control over a cluster with known characteristics. Such contracts would allow investors to hedge a decline in AI demand by trading the hardware itself. The core challenge is basis risk: GPU performance varies with networking, memory, security and data center design, and financing agreements often prevent builders from sharing pricing, so survey-based indices can miss outlier costs.
Hyperbolic has raised $20 million since launching in 2022, is in another funding round, and expects a $150 million annualized run rate by year-end, according to the report. The company says it has about 250,000 users and an estimated $200 million of annual GPU compute connected to its platform. Hyperbolic's head of finance, Hong Chan Kim, previously worked at Point72, Balyasny Asset Management and Citadel.
Other market participants are moving in the same direction. CME Group plans a cash-settled futures product tied to GPU pricing maintained by Silicon Data, an index provider backed by DRW. DRW founder and CEO Don Wilson said demand and capital flowing into the ecosystem create substantial risk and that cash futures are a useful first step. The CME product is under CFTC review, with the review period recently extended to November 9. An Intercontinental Exchange contract with data provider Ornn, backed by a16z crypto, may face a similar timeline. Silicon Data CEO Carmen Li, who also leads the DRW-backed Compute Exchange, said indices provide a normalized global figure that hedges financial exposure but does not help with procurement.
Hyperbolic's executives caution that cash-settled contracts may diverge from physical reality without active physical usage tethering prices. Zhang argued that smaller startups lacking capital or credit need a virtual pipeline to physical hardware, and that cash-settled futures can support falling prices but do not put idle GPUs to work during a slowdown.
Zhang describes this capability as the foundation for physically settled GPU futures, which upon settlement would give contract holders control over a cluster with known characteristics. Such contracts would allow investors to hedge a decline in AI demand by trading the hardware itself. The core challenge is basis risk: GPU performance varies with networking, memory, security and data center design, and financing agreements often prevent builders from sharing pricing, so survey-based indices can miss outlier costs.
Hyperbolic has raised $20 million since launching in 2022, is in another funding round, and expects a $150 million annualized run rate by year-end, according to the report. The company says it has about 250,000 users and an estimated $200 million of annual GPU compute connected to its platform. Hyperbolic's head of finance, Hong Chan Kim, previously worked at Point72, Balyasny Asset Management and Citadel.
Other market participants are moving in the same direction. CME Group plans a cash-settled futures product tied to GPU pricing maintained by Silicon Data, an index provider backed by DRW. DRW founder and CEO Don Wilson said demand and capital flowing into the ecosystem create substantial risk and that cash futures are a useful first step. The CME product is under CFTC review, with the review period recently extended to November 9. An Intercontinental Exchange contract with data provider Ornn, backed by a16z crypto, may face a similar timeline. Silicon Data CEO Carmen Li, who also leads the DRW-backed Compute Exchange, said indices provide a normalized global figure that hedges financial exposure but does not help with procurement.
Hyperbolic's executives caution that cash-settled contracts may diverge from physical reality without active physical usage tethering prices. Zhang argued that smaller startups lacking capital or credit need a virtual pipeline to physical hardware, and that cash-settled futures can support falling prices but do not put idle GPUs to work during a slowdown.
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