Silicon Data, CME plan AI token price products, WSJ says
The reported products follow the two firms' earlier plan for GPU rental futures, first announced in May, with trading targeted for November 9.
Silicon Data and CME Group are working on financial products that would be traded against AI token prices, the Wall Street Journal reported on October 22. According to the report, Silicon Data founder Carmen Li is collaborating with the derivatives exchange operator on the instruments.
Bloomberg reported a day earlier, on October 21, that the two firms planned financial products tied to AI token prices. Silicon Data operates an index that aggregates usage fees and volumes across multiple AI models to produce an average token price.
The token-price plan comes alongside a more advanced effort by the pair. CME Group currently plans November 9 as the first trading day for its GPU futures products, pending regulatory review. Those contracts reference rental rates for Nvidia's H100 and B200 chips.
Earlier timeline
Silicon Data and CME Group first announced plans to open a GPU futures market in May, and in August they unveiled products based on rental rates for Nvidia's H100 and B200. Trading had originally been scheduled to begin on October 5 but was delayed by a review from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The push into computing-price derivatives has unfolded as Nvidia said in August that it would work with six major Wall Street firms, including BlackRock and Goldman Sachs, to raise more than $500 billion for AI infrastructure investment.
Quick answers
When would CME Group's GPU futures start trading?
CME Group currently plans November 9 as the first trading day, pending regulatory review.
What does Silicon Data's index measure?
It aggregates usage fees and volumes across multiple AI models to show an average token price.