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Salad
The world's most powerful distributed cloud for AI and high-performance computing.
What it does
Aggregates residential GPU and CPU power into a unified cloud. Provides massive scale for AI/ML inference and model training. Powers decentralized VPN and web scraping services through residential nodes. Distributes computational tasks across a global 'Salad Kitchen' of users. Rewards users with digital currency and gaming items for sharing hardware.
Why it works
Cost Efficiency: Can be up to 90% cheaper than centralized giants like AWS or Google Cloud. Scale: Taps into the massive, untapped pool of 400M+ gaming PCs globally. Residential IPs: Perfect for tasks that require a diverse, residential network presence (like web scraping). Community Led: A high-trust, gamified experience that keeps hardware providers active and engaged.
Category: Utilities & System Tools
Team Size: 26-100
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As of 2026
Utilities & System Tools
Revenue: $10M-$100M ARR
The world's most powerful distributed cloud for AI and high-performance computing.
Overview
Salad is a decentralized cloud infrastructure that utilizes the idle processing power of thousands of gaming PCs worldwide. By creating a 'computational sharing economy,' Salad provides businesses with extremely affordable GPU and CPU resources for AI model training, data processing, and VPN services, while gamers earn rewards for sharing their hardware.
Funding status: Funded
Revenue source: API Usage
Customer type: B2B2C
Pricing: Usage-Based
Tech stack: Go, Python, Docker, WebRTC
Platform: Web • Desktop • API
Integrations: PyTorch, TensorFlow, Docker, Discord
Founder story
Founded in 2018 by Bob Miles in Salt Lake City. Bob realized that gaming PCs are some of the most powerful computers in the world, yet they sit idle for 20+ hours a day. He built Salad to 'democratize the cloud,' allowing everyday people to participate in and profit from the high-growth AI and compute markets.
What it does
- Aggregates residential GPU and CPU power into a unified cloud
- Provides massive scale for AI/ML inference and model training
- Powers decentralized VPN and web scraping services through residential nodes
- Distributes computational tasks across a global 'Salad Kitchen' of users
- Rewards users with digital currency and gaming items for sharing hardware.
Who it's for
- AI/ML researchers
- Data scientists
- VPN providers
- Gamers (as providers)
Why it works
- Cost Efficiency: Can be up to 90% cheaper than centralized giants like AWS or Google Cloud
- Scale: Taps into the massive, untapped pool of 400M+ gaming PCs globally
- Residential IPs: Perfect for tasks that require a diverse, residential network presence (like web scraping)
- Community Led: A high-trust, gamified experience that keeps hardware providers active and engaged.
Growth strategies
- Targeted the PC gaming community during the crypto- mining boom as a more 'useful' alternative to pure mining.
- Utilized a massive rewards store (Salad Store) to create a closed- loop economy for their users.
- Successfully pivoted from crypto- focused to AI-focused cloud services to capture the generative AI wave.
- Leveraged a referral loop that rewarded 'Chefs' for bringing more hardware into the network.
Alternatives
Comparison overview
- AWS: The centralized gold standard; Salad is significantly cheaper but lacks the same level of white-glove enterprise SLAs.
- CoreWeave: Specialized in high-end GPU clusters; Salad is more decentralized and better for massive parallelization.
- FluidStack: A close competitor in the distributed compute space; Salad has a much larger 'residential' network of gamers.
- Salad is the best choice for AI startups and research teams that need high-end compute at a fraction of traditional cloud costs.