October 8, 2026
What happened: Upscale AI, a $2 billion-valued startup backed by Nvidia, launched Token Fabric, a networking platform that lets data centers run AI chips from different suppliers in one fabric. Why it matters: It attacks the vendor lock-in problem head-on — operators could mix Nvidia and rival chips instead of building single-vendor clusters.
What Token Fabric does
Token Fabric combines Upscale’s own networking chips, equipment built on Nvidia’s Spectrum-X technology, and software that spots bottlenecks and flags hardware that may need replacing. The result, the company says, is a single fabric that connects AI processors across a data center without requiring customers to integrate separate networking systems for each chip vendor.
The pitch is aimed squarely at neoclouds and large cloud providers that are building out data centers and want to source chips from multiple suppliers. CEO Barun Kar said he expects Token Fabric to generate revenue next year in the tens of millions of dollars, potentially reaching the low hundreds of millions.
The details
The first part of the platform — connecting groups of AI chips across a data center — is planned for release in the fourth quarter of this year, with the full platform rolling out in stages through 2027. The stated goal: keep expensive AI chips working rather than sitting idle waiting for data, so operators get more out of their investment.
Upscale raised a $190 million extension to its early-stage funding round in June, led by Premji Invest, the investment arm of Indian billionaire Azim Premji. That brought total funding to $500 million, with backers including Nvidia, Salesforce, and Singapore state investor Temasek.
Why it matters
The AI infrastructure buildout has a plumbing problem nobody likes to talk about: the networking layer is where vendor lock-in really bites. If your fabric only speaks Nvidia, your cluster is Nvidia’s. A credible multi-vendor fabric would change procurement math for every neocloud currently being quoted all-or-nothing deals — and it would give AMD, Intel, and the custom-chip crowd a real path into existing data centers. The obvious caveat: this is a launch announcement, not a production deployment. Token Fabric’s claims about bottleneck detection and cross-vendor performance need third-party validation before any operator rewrites their architecture around it.
Frequently asked questions
What is Token Fabric? A hardware-and-software networking platform from Upscale AI that connects AI chips from different suppliers across a data center into one fabric.
When is it available? The first release is planned for Q4 2026, with the full platform rolling out in stages through 2027.
Who is Upscale AI? A startup valued at $2 billion in June 2026, backed by Nvidia, Salesforce, and Temasek, with $500 million in total funding.
Why would operators want multi-vendor chips? To avoid vendor lock-in, negotiate better pricing, and use the best chip for each workload instead of a single vendor’s full stack.
Sources: Reuters