Tory Green is the Co-Founder and CEO of io.net, a company focused on innovation in artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and DePIN infrastructure. He has experience in startup leadership and investment and serves as a partner at Tiller Partners, with a background in executive roles across various technology companies. ^[1][2][3]

Education

Tory Green holds a degree in Economics from Stanford University, where he was a member of the professional fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and worked as an SAT tutor for the Princeton Review. He also studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point, focusing on Economics and Nuclear Engineering, and received the Distinguished Cadet Award. Additionally, Green completed intensive courses in digital marketing and data science through the General Assembly and Le Wagon. ^[1][2][3]

Career

Tory Green began his career as an analyst at Merrill Lynch, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, followed by a role in strategic planning at The Walt Disney Company. He then worked as a Private Equity Associate at Oaktree Capital Management, conducting due diligence on investments in the energy sector.

Following these early roles, Green served as the Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Fox Mobile Group, where he evaluated acquisitions, joint ventures, and new business opportunities. He later co-founded The Art of Charm, Inc., a media and marketing firm centered on personal development, where he oversaw business operations, marketing, and strategic planning in his role as COO.

Green’s subsequent experience includes executive roles at Hum Capital, a fintech platform, where he held the positions of COO and CFO. At Hum Capital, he was responsible for operations and finance, contributing to the development of the Intelligent Capital Market platform, which utilizes AI to analyze company financials for connecting businesses with investors.

Prior to his current role, Green was a partner and COO at Tiller Partners, a venture capital firm that focuses on technology investments across various growth stages. His work involved managing investment functions such as sourcing, market research, valuation, and portfolio management. He led research teams exploring trends in fields like machine learning, blockchain, and IoT, and collaborated with portfolio company founders on pricing, marketing, growth strategies, and acquisitions. Green also implemented processes for deal tracking, due diligence, and investor relations, while managing a team of MBA associates.

Currently, Green serves as the CEO of io.net, where he previously held the position of COO. In this role, he oversees the development of technology solutions focused on artificial intelligence, blockchain, and decentralized infrastructure. ^[1][2][3][4]

Leadership Transition and Background

In June 2024, io.net co-founder Ahmad Shadid announced his resignation as CEO, stating that his departure aimed to eliminate potential distractions to the company's progress. Shadid emphasized that his decision was unrelated to past allegations against him and was instead focused on allowing io.net to pursue its mission without interruption. In his place, Chief Operating Officer Tory Green was appointed CEO, assuming leadership at a pivotal moment for io.net, particularly as it prepared for the launch of its IO token on Binance’s Launchpad.

Strategic Initiatives under Tory Green's Leadership

Upon assuming the role of CEO, Tory Green outlined io.net’s focus on two key strategic areas: expanding its global network of GPU and CPU suppliers and enhancing operational efficiency. The company currently supports AI clients such as WonderAI, Krea, and Leonardo with GPU resources for AI inference and model training, having onboarded around 20,000 cluster-ready GPUs.

Green stated that io.net’s network expansion aims to fulfill the increasing demand for decentralized AI infrastructure, positioning the company as a cost-effective alternative to traditional centralized solutions. Green emphasized that under his leadership, io.net will aim to build on the DePIN model, which has proven effective in enabling decentralized marketplaces for computing resources. Industry analysts have suggested that this success in DePIN could serve as a template for similar models in sectors like energy, healthcare, and transportation.^[5][3][6][7]

Interviews

Tory Green on io.net Vision and Strategy

In an interview with The Defiant on August 5, 2024, Tory Green shared insights into io.net’s approach and long-term objectives in the decentralized infrastructure space. According to Green, io.net seeks to provide an affordable alternative for AI startups in need of high-performance computing, effectively challenging the dominance of large tech companies.

Green explained that io.net currently aggregates over 318,000 GPUs from around the world, offering startups in the generative AI sector scalable access to computing power at significantly lower costs. The network’s primary focus is on supporting AI companies at the seed to Series B stages, a segment that often faces challenges due to the high expenses associated with traditional computing services. Since its inception, io.net has reportedly provided over a million compute hours, generating more than one million dollars in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV).

The IO utility token, which Green highlighted as integral to the platform, facilitates payments, staking, and ensures network security through a disinflationary schedule aimed at promoting long-term investment. Partnerships with companies like Render, Filecoin, and Aethir have also been pivotal, with Green noting that these collaborations help decentralize infrastructure and position io.net as a viable alternative to major cloud providers.

According to Green, io.net decentralized model provides a competitive edge by reducing costs and enhancing accessibility. Additionally, the focus on strategic growth through customer engagement, network optimization, and attracting talent indicates io.net commitment to scaling its operations sustainably. Green outlined the company’s future plans, which include expanding customer deals and refining reward structures within the network to align with io.net’s growth objectives. ^[8]

Tory Green on io.net’s Decentralized GPU Network

In a December 7, 2023 interview on "DeFi Dad’s" YouTube channel, Tory Green elaborated on io.net’s approach to leveraging underutilized GPU resources to meet the rising demand for AI computing. According to Green, io.net has established a decentralized network that aggregates idle GPUs from various sectors, creating a marketplace for affordable computing power aimed primarily at engineers and startups in AI.

Green explained that io.net’s model addresses existing GPU shortages by sourcing idle capacity from data centers and crypto miners. By doing so, the platform offers compute resources at prices significantly lower than traditional cloud providers, allowing AI developers and companies to access GPU resources without the high costs typically associated with cloud computing.

Utilizing a structural arbitrage model, which Green compared to platforms like Airbnb and Uber, io.net disrupts the existing market oligopoly by providing a flexible, scalable alternative to centralized providers. The network also supports a customizable deployment system, enabling users to tailor GPU clusters to specific needs. Additionally, payment options on io.net include both credit card and USDC, enhancing accessibility for users across sectors.

Green highlighted that the decentralized nature of io.net not only supports scalable and efficient infrastructure but also allows users to optimize latency and performance by deploying resources from diverse global locations. Early interest from large startups and the positive revenue outlook indicate that io.net is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the AI compute market.

Through active community engagement on platforms like Discord, io.net fosters a collaborative environment, providing support and building a community around decentralized computing. Green emphasized the platform’s potential for rapid growth and adaptability to a global user base, a strategy that could offer AI developers a competitive alternative to traditional GPU providers. ^[9]