Fluence
6 known investors
Find your way into Fluence
23 people in our graph share verified history with the Fluence team β schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Fluence is a decentralized "cloudless" computing platform that combines blockchain with high-performance computing to let developers build and scale applications without relying on centralized cloud providers. It operates as a DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure) project offering a trustless, verifiable compute framework.
Also known as Cloudless Labs Β· Fluence Network
Founders & leadership
Investors Β· 6
Also in the syndicate Β· 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Fluence is a decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) computing platform that positions itself as a "cloudless" alternative to centralized cloud providers, combining blockchain mechanisms with high-performance computing to deliver resilient, open and low-cost compute. Its stated mission is to build a decentralized, verifiable and open cloud so that applications are not dependent on a small number of corporate cloud operators, with an emphasis on censorship resistance and developer freedom.
The platform is delivered through the Fluence Console, a web application used to rent and manage resources from the Fluence compute marketplace, covering the full lifecycle of resources and services including payments and billing. Access to the Console was, per the documentation, restricted to participants of an Alpha VM testing program. An API complements the web interface, allowing users to search CPU and GPU cloud marketplaces for available compute, deploy virtual machines, GPU containers and bare metal instances, manage active deployments, and manage SSH keys for instance access β aimed at automation, workflow integration and building third-party tools on the platform.
Governance is split between Fluence DAO and Cloudless Labs. The DAO, powered by the FLT token on Ethereum and structured through a Swiss Association, oversees protocol upgrades and ecosystem growth and holds ultimate decision-making authority, while Cloudless Labs pioneered Fluence's development and remains a key contributor.
Founding story
Fluence was founded in 2017 by Evgeny Ponomarev, Dmitry Kurinskiy and Tom Trowbridge. The company describes its origin as a response to the concentration of cloud infrastructure among a few corporations, shaped by the founders' firsthand experiences with censorship and monopolization, with the aim of creating a decentralized cloud where developers can build and scale without gatekeepers. Ponomarev has worked on blockchain technology since 2011 and focuses on crypto-economics and protocol design; Kurinskiy, a distributed systems specialist, architects the compute framework; Trowbridge was President from inception at Hedera Hashgraph.
Business model
Fluence operates a decentralized compute marketplace in which users rent CPU, GPU and bare metal resources from providers, with payments and billing handled through the Fluence Console. The network is coordinated by the FLT token on Ethereum, which also powers Fluence DAO governance; company blog posts address FLT tokenomics, staking for compute resources, and token supply, use and governance.
Customers pay to rent compute resources from the decentralized marketplace, with payments and billing managed through the Fluence Console.
Traction
Fluence's compute marketplace is accessible via the Fluence Console, initially limited to participants of an Alpha VM testing program, alongside an API for programmatic deployment. The company reports a series of ecosystem partnerships during 2024-2026 and community events such as DePIN Day Dubai 2025, which it described as drawing over 400 builders and 28 speakers.
Latest developments
Recent product and ecosystem milestones include GPU VMs and bare metal on the Cloudless platform (December 2025), updates to Fluence Virtual Servers and the Provider App (December 2025), a new website with full GPU access for new users (February 2026), a platform update sharpening the company's AI focus and strengthening FLT (March 2026), persistent storage volumes and public IP management (April 2026), and GPU cluster auctions intended to bring price discovery to reserved AI compute (August 2026). Partnerships announced over the same period include Zeeve, the TON grant program, Nodes.Garden, dKloud, Tashi, AR.IO, NEO and SpoonOS.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Fluence presents itself as a DePIN cloudless computing platform providing resilient, open and low-cost alternatives to traditional centralized cloud computing.
Fluence emphasizes decentralized, verifiable compute governed by a DAO rather than a single corporate operator, combining a marketplace of independent providers, crypto-economic incentives and cryptographic proofs with conventional cloud primitives such as VMs, GPU containers, bare metal, persistent storage and public IPs.
Technology
Fluence merges blockchain with high-performance computing to provide a trustless compute framework built on crypto-economic incentives and cryptographic proofs. The platform exposes CPU and GPU cloud marketplaces and supports deployment of virtual machines, GPU containers and bare metal instances, with persistent storage volumes and public IP management added later. The FLT token runs on Ethereum and underpins staking and DAO governance.
Go-to-market
Fluence combines a self-serve web console and API with an ecosystem partnership strategy β collaborations with node infrastructure and Web3 providers such as Zeeve, Nodes.Garden, dKloud, Tashi, AR.IO, NEO/SpoonOS, Rivalz and Spheron β plus grant program participation (TON), developer education content, and community events including DePIN Day gatherings in Dubai, Singapore and Buenos Aires.
Developers, organizations and Web3 projects seeking compute without relying on centralized cloud providers, including blockchain node operators and teams running AI and GPU workloads.
Geography
Fluence describes a globally distributed team; the Fluence DAO is structured through a Swiss Association. Community events have been held in Dubai, Singapore and Buenos Aires.
History
Founded in 2017 by Evgeny Ponomarev, Dmitry Kurinskiy and Tom Trowbridge, Fluence was developed by Cloudless Labs, which has raised $14 million from investors including 1KX, Multicoin, Distributed Global, Blockchange, Tiger Global and Protocol Labs. Governance later moved to Fluence DAO, powered by the FLT token on Ethereum and structured through a Swiss Association, with Cloudless Labs remaining a key contributor. The company published tokenomics and staking programs from 2024 onward and expanded its compute offering from cloudless VMs to GPU and bare metal instances through 2025 and 2026.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 15
launches, deals, and filingsDated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
Fluence Energy Stock Leads 3 Cash Flow Picks For AI Infrastructure - Simply Wall St Newssimplywall.st Β· Aug 2026βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- About Fluence β Building Decentralized Cloudfluence.network Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Fluence do?
- Fluence is a DePIN 'cloudless' computing platform offering decentralized alternatives to traditional cloud infrastructure.
- Who founded Fluence?
- Fluence was founded by Evgeny Ponomarev, Tom Trowbridge, Dmitry Kurinskiy.
- Who are Fluence's investors?
- Fluence's investors include Multicoin Capital, Polymorphic Capital, Signum Capital, 1kx.