Jed McCaleb-backed nonprofit invests $500M in Nvidia AI chips

A nonprofit backed by Stellar (XLM) and Ripple (XRP) co-founder Jed McCaleb has invested millions of dollars in advanced AI-powered chips, Reuters reported.

McCaleb, a crypto pioneer who also co-founded Mt.Gox, received 9 billion XRP when he left Ripple in 2013. After he founded Stellar, he sold almost all of his XRP holdings over the years, netting a fortune.

Investment to support AI innovation

Per the report, cloud computing platform Voltage Park, which has benefitted from financial muscle of the crypto billionaire, has ploughed $500 million into Nvidia chips.

Voltage Park’s data centre currently holds 24,000 Nvidia H100 chips, the CEO Eric Park noted in an interview.

Following this investment, Voltage Park will deploy the AI chips into a cloud computing lease program, with the goal of offering low-cost access to AI computing power to users. The initiative supports both short and long term use amid its plans to ease the impact that a shortage of AI chips is having on the artificial intelligence space.

Demand for cutting-edge semiconductors continues to skyrocket in recent months as the AI narrative takes root across the globe. The prospects of further growth for the sector has seen companies such as Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and other ramp up efforts to meet demand.

Voltage Park is a subsidiary of Navigation Fund and reportedly channels all profits from its business to its Navigation Fund, a nonprofit run by McCaleb. However, the crypto billionaire does not have a direct day-to-day involvement in the operations of both organisations.