Hive's technology aims to transform 70% of the world's unused
device capacity into a global supercomputer
GENEVA, March 29,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SC Ventures, Standard
Chartered's innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, is
leading a €12 million (USD $13
million) Series A round for distributed cloud provider Hive,
to increase access to sustainable, high-powered computing resources
for businesses and individuals. OneRagtime, a French venture
capital fund that led Hive's Seed round, and a collection of
private investors also joined the round.
Hive is reinventing the cloud from a centralized model that uses
expensive physical servers to a distributed cloud infrastructure
that aggregates individual devices' unused hard drive and computing
capacities. Hive's model helps businesses efficiently manage their
cloud-related expenses, reduce dependency on a select few cloud
providers, and significantly reduces cloud energy use. In 2023,
global data centres, which power the world's cloud, required 7.4
Gigawatts of power, a 55% increase from 2022. Currently, data
centres account for up to 3% of global electricity consumption,
with projections suggesting this could rise to 4% by 2030.
"Hive is addressing the pressing need for a new cloud paradigm
that democratizes access, lowers financial barriers, and encourages
innovation," said David Gurlé, Hive Founder. "With
over 70% of the computing power available in our devices and
billions of devices connected to the Internet, Hive's community
driven model builds 'The Right Cloud' to offer a greener, more
resilient network and secure alternative that also promotes a more
equitable cloud solution. We thank our investors, as well as INRIA
and Bpifrance, for their continuous support as we look to achieve
our ambitious goals."
Since October 2023, Hive has
amassed over 25,000 total active users and contributors from 147
countries, who store their files on hiveDisk and contribute
a portion of their unused hard drive to hiveNet to
effectively lower their subscription costs and build the
distributed cloud. The contributed computing capacity to hiveNet
also powers hiveCompute, allowing companies to manage
workloads, such as run GenAI inference, video processing, and 3D
modelling. HiveNet's architecture provides access to additional
CPU, GPU, or NPU when needed, boosting the much-needed computing
power. Companies seeking more control could also build their own
private hiveNet, where IT managers retain full control over
the devices.
In December, Hive unveiled a Joint Development Partner
(JDP) initiative, working closely with key partners to innovate
the cloud landscape for businesses leveraging GenAI LLM
computations.
"We are big believers of Hive's distributed cloud technology
that will enable cheaper and more efficient access to computing
power and storage, a critical point when most of our ventures may
have an AI component requiring increasing such computing power,"
said Alex Manson, who heads
SC Ventures. "In addition to our investment, our ventures will
be leveraging Hive's services."
"Cloud technology has opened up horizons of innovation, but it
also comes with challenges in terms of costs, security, data
privacy, and environmental impact, heightened by the increasing
demand for computing resources, especially for artificial
intelligence," said Stéphanie Hospital, Founder & CEO at
OneRagtime. "Hive, with its pioneering approach to distributed
cloud, makes cloud access more secure, affordable, and efficient
for everyone, and enables the sharing of computational power
resources. As an early investor and believer, OneRagtime is
particularly excited to support Hive's vision and team."
Hive is a champion of sustainable technological progress,
offering a practical solution to the challenges posed by
traditional cloud computing models. With its latest funding round,
Hive's sights are set on growing its team and global footprint,
with a focus on addressing the enterprise markets starting with
startups and SMBs. The team is prioritizing several areas of the
business, including product development, building an engaged
community of contributing Hivers, and sales and marketing efforts
to reach users at scale.
About Hive
Hive is revolutionizing the digital world
by bringing the power of distributed cloud computing directly to
the masses, providing everyone with the tools to innovate, secure
their data, and contribute to a greener planet. Through hiveNet,
hiveDisk, hiveCompute, and many other applications to come, Hive is
aggregating latent computing resources from a community of
interconnected computers to provide the market with
easy-to-implement solutions that will unleash the power of
distributed cloud to the masses, all while minimizing environmental
impact. Hive's Joint Development Partner (JDP) program develops
innovations in the cloud computing landscape for businesses
leveraging GenAI LLM computations. Together, Hive is shaping a
technological future that equitably uplifts every community.
To learn more about Hive, please visit www.hivenet.com
About SC Ventures
SC Ventures is a business
unit that provides a platform and catalyst for Standard Chartered
to promote innovation, invest in disruptive financial technology
and explore alternative business models.
For more information, please visit www.scventures.io and follow
SC Ventures on LinkedIn.
About Standard Chartered
We are a leading
international banking group, with a presence in 53 of the world's
most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 64. Our
purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique
diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand
promise, here for good.
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at
sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
and Facebook.
About OneRagtime
OneRagtime is a
venture capital platform founded by Stéphanie
Hospital and Jean-Marie
Messier. Since 2017, OneRagtime
has sourced, financed, and scaled +40 start-ups. With its
unique platform model, OneRagtime allows
its investor community to invest in the most-promising French and
European startups through its funds or dedicated club deals, while
giving entrepreneurs unparalleled network and business
acceleration.
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