Silicon Data, founded by CEO Carmen Li in April 2024, is developing financial infrastructure for AI compute resources. The company provides pricing indices, such as the H100 Rental Index and LLM token indices, which track real-time costs by aggregating hundreds of thousands of data points. These indices support the Compute Exchange platform, which has recorded hundreds of millions in notional trading volume and attracted over 1,000 users.
The company has raised a total of $35.2 million in capital, including a $4.7 million seed round in 2025 and a $30.5 million Series A in August 2026. Silicon Data is currently partnering with CME Group to launch cash-settled GPU futures and options products. The launch is targeted for fall 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
Carmen Li estimates the potential derivatives market for compute resources could range between $6 trillion and $30 trillion. The company differentiates its approach from decentralized crypto projects by focusing on centralized benchmarks and traditional financial infrastructure, aiming to serve large corporate procurement teams.
