CME Group to Launch AI Computing Power Futures Contracts, Making GPU Rental Costs Tradable

AI computing power is becoming a tradable asset class as CME launches futures contracts

Computing power is emerging as a new tradable asset class, with CME Group set to launch the first futures contracts tied to the cost of running the chips that power artificial intelligence. The exchange is partnering with Silicon Data to introduce two compute futures contracts on Oct. 5, pending regulatory approval, giving companies and investors a way to trade and hedge the price of AI computing capacity much as they do oil, electricity and other commodities. "For years, two companies buying the exact same GPU capacity could pay wildly different prices with no way to know who got the better deal. They will now have a benchmark to check that against," Carmen Li, CEO of Silicon Data, said in a statement. "Compute futures give the market something it's never had: a public, tradable reference price for the resource every AI system runs on." The contracts will allow buyers and sellers to trade against the rental cost of Nvidia's H100 and newer Blackwell B200 graphics processing units and will be based on Silicon Data indexes that track hourly GPU rental prices. Each contract will represent a month's rent for the Nvidia H100. The launch comes as Wall Street is finding new ways to finance and gain exposure to the enormous AI infrastructure buildout. Nvidia is working with some of the world's largest asset managers on an effort that could channel as much as $500 billion into AI infrastructure. Compute futures would add another layer to that emerging financial ecosystem. Rather than investing directly in data centers, chips or the companies building them, investors could gain exposure to the price of the underlying computing capacity itself, while AI developers and data-center operators could use the contracts to hedge their costs or revenues.

The currency of the AI age

Why it matters: A compute futures market would bring more transparency, new ways to manage volatility and even more investment into what's quickly becoming a critical part of the economy. The big picture: Futures markets allow companies to hedge against swings in prices. If you're an airline, you can buy oil futures to manage costs. A farmer might buy soybean futures to hedge against how well his crop does that year. * Historically, creating a more transparent market for a commodity has unlocked more investments. Plenty of traders and investors in oil and soybeans never own the underlying asset. The latest: The exchange operator CME Group said Tuesday that it plans to launch two compute futures contracts on Oct. 5, "pending regulatory review." The group is working with Silicon Data, a company that publishes indexes tracking compute pricing. * Each futures contract would represent a month's worth of rent for the Nvidia H100 or its newer Nvidia Blackwell B200, per the release. * The idea is to turn compute into a "standardized, tradable commodity," Pete Keavey, global head of energy and environmental products at CME Group, said in the release. State of play: Another company, New York-based OneChronos, is also working on a compute futures marketplace and is awaiting approval from federal regulators. * The company expects it to be operational this year, CEO Kelly Littlepage tells Axios. Reality check: The big problem with treating AI compute like a commodity is that it simply is not like a commodity, Littlepage says. A bar of gold is basically like any other bar of gold, but compute is different. * "Just from an Econ 101 stance, it actually fails every measure of being a commodity since it's not fungible. It's not storable. It's not transportable. There's actually nothing about it that you would consider a commodity." Zoom in: The startup's futures market is using what's known as "combinatorial" auctions to deal with the issue. And it's working with Paul Milgrom, an economist who developed a similar system to auction wireless spectrum -- and won a Nobel Prize for his work. Between the lines: The big players in the AI market have been talking about compute as an "investable asset class" -- literally the title of the Nvidia CEO's post Monday night about the $500 billion financing deal he's ginned up with six major financial firms. * At the Milken investor conference in May, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink had a similar pitch: "I actually believe a new asset class will be buying futures of compute," he said. "We just don't have enough compute power right now." The bottom line: AI compute is fast becoming the metaphorical currency of our time. Now, the race is on to make it more like a literal currency.

CME Group to launch GPU compute futures contracts in October By Investing.com

CHICAGO - CME Group and Silicon Data announced plans to launch two compute futures contracts on October 5, 2026, pending regulatory review, according to a press release statement. The contracts will track hourly rental costs for Nvidia H100 and B200 graphics processing units based on indexes published by Silicon Data. Each contract represents one month of GPU rental. Silicon Data is backed by trading firm DRW. The Silicon Data H100 Rental Index Futures will track the Nvidia H100 chip, while the Silicon Data B200 Rental Index Futures will track the Nvidia Blackwell B200. Both contracts will be listed on NYMEX. "Compute has become the currency of the AI age, and this innovative market will bring transparency to the current and future costs that AI builders and hyperscalers need to hedge as they grow," said Pete Keavey, Global Head of Energy and Environmental Products at CME Group. Carmen Li, Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Data, stated that the futures will provide "a public, tradable reference price for the resource every AI system runs on." The contracts aim to provide hedging tools for companies managing GPU rental costs, which have experienced price volatility due to demand for AI infrastructure. The futures will allow businesses to lock in compute costs and provide visibility into future AI spending. CME Group operates derivatives exchanges across multiple asset classes including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, and agricultural products. The company trades through its CME Globex platform and operates CME Clearing as a central counterparty clearing provider. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.