Andromeda

Andromeda, operating as Andromeda AI Inc., provides a platform that connects companies with a global network of GPU providers for training and inference jobs. The company was founded by technology investors Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross to address the significant demand for AI computing power, particularly among startups. Initially, the project, known as the Andromeda Cluster, was an internal effort within the founders' venture firm, NFDG, to provide their portfolio companies with access to a large-scale GPU cluster. This initiative began with a single managed cluster that filled almost instantly, highlighting the critical market need.

The founders, Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, are both prominent figures in the technology and AI investment sectors. Friedman is the former CEO of GitHub and has a background in open-source software, having co-founded Ximian, which was later acquired by Novell. Gross, an entrepreneur and investor, sold his first startup, Cue, to Apple, where he then led AI and machine learning efforts before becoming a partner at Y Combinator. Together, through their firm NFDG and an initiative called AI Grant, they have been significant investors in the AI space. The Andromeda Cluster was their solution to the primary obstacle faced by their portfolio companies: securing scarce and expensive GPU resources.

Andromeda's business model functions as a marketplace, creating a liquidity layer for AI compute. The platform routes training and inference jobs across a supply network of over 100 providers, including data centers, cloud providers, and even cryptocurrency mining operations with unused capacity. This allows customers, which include AI startups and labs, to access high-performance compute on-demand without committing to long-term contracts that are often required by major cloud providers. Andromeda streamlines the process by handling the complexities of sourcing, benchmarking, contracting, and billing. The platform vets providers to ensure hardware meets performance and security standards and consolidates billing into a single invoice for clients. To ensure fair market rates, the company offers the Andromeda Pricing Index, which tracks GPU prices across different types, regions, and contract terms. By March 2026, the company had raised a total of $60 million from the venture capital firm Paradigm, achieving a valuation of $1.5 billion.

Keywords: AI compute marketplace, GPU on-demand, AI infrastructure, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Andromeda Cluster, high-performance computing, GPU access, AI startups, inference jobs, training jobs, NFDG, compute liquidity, data centers, cloud providers, AI Grant, Paradigm, GPU rental, distributed computing, AI hardware