Fluence-TON Pact Buries "Too Expensive" Hurdle for Blockchain Startups

Fluence Energy, a leader in energy storage and decentralized computing infrastructure, has joined The Open Network's (TON) Grant Program to provide high-performance compute credits for blockchain and AI developers. The initiative aims to reduce infrastructure costs for TON-based projects by up to 85%, leveraging Fluence's global network of enterprise-grade data centers equipped with AMD Zen5 hardware and top-tier GPUs like NVIDIA H100 and B200. This partnership aligns with Fluence's recent financial momentum, which includes a 50% revenue growth forecast for fiscal year 2026, driven by a $5.3 billion backlog and $1.3 billion in liquidity.

The TON Grant Program offers three tiers of compute credits: Builder Tier ($2,000–$5,000), Growth Tier ($5,000–$10,000), and Enterprise Tier, with allocations tailored to project scope. Credits remain valid for 6–12 months and are accompanied by onboarding support to streamline deployment. Fluence's infrastructure is optimized for compute-intensive tasks such as running TON nodes, AI model training, and blockchain operations, with APIs and a user-friendly console enabling scalable resource management. Co-founder Evgeny Ponomarev emphasized the program's role in lowering barriers for early-stage projects, stating that "most promising ideas die at the 'it's too expensive to run this in production' stage".

Fluence's strategic move comes amid strong financial performance. For fiscal 2025, the company reported $2.3 billion in revenue, a 13.7% adjusted gross margin, and $1.3 billion in liquidity, despite Q4 earnings missing expectations due to production delays at its Arizona facility. Management attributed FY 2026 guidance of $3.2 billion–$3.6 billion in revenue to 85% backlog coverage and improved operational execution. The CFO highlighted that 85% of FY 2026 revenue is already secured, with one-third expected in the first half of the year.

The partnership with TON also reflects Fluence's broader push into AI and blockchain infrastructure. The company's GPU fleet supports both inference and large-scale training, and its cloudless computing model offers cost efficiencies over traditional providers. TON's ecosystem, which integrates AI-native payments and decentralized identity solutions, benefits from Fluence's capacity to handle high-throughput workloads. Projects in data analytics, gaming, and on-chain payments are prioritized for grants, with Fluence matching existing infrastructure spend to enhance scalability.

Analysts note that the TON-Fluence collaboration could accelerate innovation in Web3 applications. The Open Network's focus on accessibility, combined with Fluence's enterprise-grade resources, positions the partnership to attract developers seeking cost-effective, scalable infrastructure. As TON expands its agentic payments and AI tools-evidenced by recent initiatives like Cronos' x402 PayTech Hackathon, Fluence's compute credits provide a critical enabler for early-stage experimentation and growth.