The new oil? Inside the effort to turn AI computing power into a tradeable commodity

Silicon Data, which tracks cloud and GPU pricing, has partnered with CME Group to launch what could be the world’s first futures contracts tied to the compute power needed to train and run AI models. The contracts await regulatory approval, but initial momentum is evident as asset managers including ProShares and Rex Shares filed ETF proposals tied to the contracts, including leveraged and inverse products. Founder and CEO Carmen Li expects the market to rival major commodities, suggesting compute demand could surpass oil futures in scale. The model hinges on companies renting AI compute from cloud providers, making price volatility a critical risk to hedge.