Liquid Compute has filed applications with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to establish a regulated marketplace for trading cash and physically settled compute contracts. The startup raised a $15 million seed round co-led by Chemistry and First Mark Capital, with participation from K8 Cap, Night Capital, and Y Combinator, alongside investors from OpenAI, Jane Street, and CoreWeave.

The platform aims to create a short term market for AI infrastructure, functioning similarly to electricity grids like PJM or ERCOT to support a cash settled derivatives layer. Liquid Compute previously collaborated with Susquehanna International Group, BGC Group, and Wintermute to facilitate over the counter trading for lenders, neocloud providers, and AI startups.