io.net Appoints New Leadership to Drive Decentralized AI Infrastructure

io.net, a leading decentralized compute platform, has announced significant leadership changes aimed at driving its growth and advocacy for decentralized AI infrastructure. Tory Green, a co-founder of io.net, has been appointed as the Chairperson of the io.net Foundation. In this new role, Green will lead the Foundation’s mission to promote open, permissionless infrastructure for AI, focusing on adoption, advocacy, and ecosystem growth.

Green’s appointment comes at a critical time as the demand for AI compute accelerates, leading to a more centralized cloud infrastructure controlled by a few dominant players. This centralization poses risks to innovation, access, and transparency. The io.net Foundation was established to address these challenges by advocating for decentralized infrastructure, launching grants programs, conducting research, and engaging with policymakers and industry leaders.

Green brings a wealth of experience in venture capital and early-stage leadership, which will be instrumental in catalyzing ecosystem growth. He will also serve as an advisor and champion for grant recipients, helping founders and researchers navigate the path to impact. “The need for decentralization in AI has never been more urgent,” Green stated. “The Foundation will push for open, equitable infrastructure that allows AI to scale in a way that benefits everyone - not just the few. I’m excited to lead this work and support the builders who are making that future possible.”

Alongside Green’s appointment, Gaurav Sharma, the former CTO of io.net, has been named the new CEO. Sharma has been a key figure in the development of io.net’s decentralized cloud platform, including IO Cloud and IO Intelligence. His technical expertise and leadership in distributed systems, high-performance computing, and AI infrastructure will be crucial as io.net enters a new phase of growth. Prior to io.net, Sharma held senior engineering leadership roles at prominent companies, where he helped build and scale global platforms.

Sharma’s appointment as CEO, alongside Co-Founder & COO Basem Oubah, marks a significant step for io.net. “From day one, we’ve been building the decentralized infrastructure layer for AI - something the world desperately needs,” Sharma said. “I’m proud to take on this role with an exceptional team beside me.”

The partnership between io.net and the io.net Foundation is increasingly important as the infrastructure behind AI continues to evolve. While io.net focuses on building and scaling the infrastructure layer, the Foundation ensures that decentralization remains at the core of the global AI conversation. Tory Green and Gaurav Sharma will host a joint AMA on io.net’s X profile on 29 April to discuss these developments and the future of decentralized AI infrastructure.

io.net is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) that deploys and manages on-demand, decentralized GPU clusters from geo-distributed sources. Its network consists of thousands of GPUs specifically architected for low-latency, compute-intensive use cases like AI/ML ops and cloud gaming. The platform aims to democratize access to GPU compute capacity while reducing costs, expediting lead times, and expanding options for engineers and businesses.