Internet Backyard Aims for Transparent GPU Pricing and Performance-Based Models in Data Centers

Internet Backyard, led by CEO Mai Trinh, is developing a tenant portal to provide real-time GPU pricing and energy matching for data centers. The startup currently focuses on standardizing billing and payment processes for new data centers, avoiding partnerships with hyperscalers.

Trinh highlights that many data center operators rely on Excel for pricing, lacking real-time options. The company is exploring performance-based pricing models, emphasizing that customers should pay for actual performance rather than depreciable assets.

Investors include Jay Adelson, co-founder of Equinix. Energy demand for AI computations is straining power grids and increasing electricity costs. A McKinsey study projects U.S. data centers could account for 12% of total energy consumption by 2030.

Last week, several stakeholders requested a moratorium on new data center construction from the U.S. Congress due to unsustainable energy needs. Power Lattice, led by CEO Peng Zou, is working on technology to improve chip energy efficiency in response to the high demands of AI clusters.