PIP3.5 — GPU Capacity Maintenance via Provider Incentive Program

[isaac9905]

PIP3.5 — GPU Capacity Maintenance via Provider Incentive Program

1. Summary

This is a funding proposal attached to PIP03, specifically a request to shift funds allocated to B200s to validated GPUs on the Akash Network.

We request funding from the Community Pool to extend contracts for the network’s most utilized resources—H100s, H200s, and A100s—preventing a drop in network capacity and ensuring continuity for ongoing AI workloads.

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2. Context

2.1 Background

• Akash launched prior GPU incentive pilots (PIP01 and PIP02) to attract high-end GPU providers and validate demand. To date, through the PIP programs, Overclock Labs has brought on over 1,100 high end GPUs to support AI workloads.
• These GPUs have provided accessible compute to develop highly utilized resources on Akash, such as AkashML.

2.2 Results of Prior Pilots

• PIP01 successfully introduced high-grade GPUs and attracted large-scale workloads.
• PIP02 expanded deployment further, including H200s, H100s, and A100s, with high utilization across clusters.
• PIP03 is currently validating demand through pro6000s and 5090s on the network.

2.3 Current Situation: Contract Sunset

Several PIP01 and PIP02 GPU contracts are now approaching expiration. Without follow-up action, in demand GPU capacity will leave the network. Furthermore, Overclock Labs believes it is in the network's best interest to shift from the more expensive B200s, as originally outlined in PIP03, and focus on maintaining the current GPUs on the network.

B200s were originally included in PIP03 to start validating demand for next-generation GPUs on Akash and to get ahead of where the AI compute market is going. The idea was the same pattern we’ve followed with earlier PIPs: introduce new hardware in a limited way, learn from real usage, and then scale once the network and market are ready.

Since PIP03 was approved, a few things became clear: while interest in B200s absolutely exists, availability is still limited and pricing remains high. At the same time, the network already has strong, proven demand for H100s, H200s, and A100s that are actively running production workloads today. Many of those contracts are now approaching expiration. Given that reality, we believe it’s a better use of community funds to keep highly utilized GPUs online rather than allocate capital toward hardware that isn’t yet ready to be deployed at scale on Akash.

This isn’t a step back from B200s, it’s a timing decision. B200s remain a clear target for future expansion. For now, this proposal focuses on protecting the capacity that users are already relying on every day.

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3. Validated Demand

• Average utilization across H200s, H100s, and A100s has stayed consistently over 50% with peak usage cresting 95%.
• Ongoing interest from model-training and inference users further confirms continued growth.

3.1 Demand of GPUs

Over the course of the PIP02 contract timelines, from December 2024 to November 2025, average utilization of H200s, H100s, and A100s were as follows:

GPU Model	GPU Usage %
H100	59.30%
H200	57.34%
A100	61.61%
RTX 4090	56.07%

Overclock Labs believes that a proper retooling will positively impact both the Akash Network as a whole and the community whose funds are being used to renew key contracts referenced above.

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4. Proposal

4.1 Quantities & Budget

Total Request Amount: $789,768.13

New GPU budget:

GPU	Total GPUs	GPU Hourly Rate	Contract Term (months)	Extended Cost
H100	24	$ 1.50	12	$ 315,360.00
H200	64	$ 2.00	12	$ 1,121,280.00
A100	32	$ 0.82	12	$ 229,862.40
Total GPUs	120		Total Cost	$ 1,666,502.40
			Less: Funds released from PIP03	$ (1,050,624.00)
			Plus: OCL impact due to token price change**	$ 41,658.97
			Net Request	$ 657,537.37
			Vol Buffer %*	20.11%
			Vol Buffer Amount	$ 132,230.76
			Total Request	$ 789,768.13

*This buffer accounts for the historical daily volatility of AKT measured over a period of 56 days. By providing a more substantial buffer against potential downswings in AKT, we mitigate the need to request any budget shortfalls through subsequent proposals. In the event of excess funds above the US dollar amount for labor, taxes, and overage, all remaining AKT will be promptly returned to the community.

**1,861,865.60 AKT liquidated to $902,419.49. B200s represent 70.697% of the original PIP03 budget. Due to downward price movements, $637,990 was left to cover $1,050,624 in original B200 estimated costs. $370,975 (70.697% * $524,735) of the volatility buffer was attributed/absorbed by the B200 budget line item, leaving exposed losses to OCL of $41,658.97.

Amended historical cost for PIP03 GPUs:

GPU	Total GPUs	GPU Hourly Rate	Contract Term (months)	Extended Cost
B200*	0	$ -	0	$0.00
RTX PRO 6000	24	$ 1.50	12	$311,040.00
RTX 5090**	8	$ 0.60	12	$41,472.00
			Total Historical Cost	$352,512.00

*Originally requested funds for 32 B200s for a total of $1,050,624.

**Due to limited 5090 demand, budget allocations only reflect the single node of 5090s that Overclock brought on to Akash Network as of 1/20/2026. Overclock Labs will continue to review demand and use additional PIP03 funds left over for 5090s as needed.

Limited Market Impact & Transparent Reporting

Limited Market Impact

Overclock Labs will custody the requested funds in a new, distinct wallet so that funds from any other source are not commingled.

All funds will be liquidated and managed in a manner that ensures minimal impact on the market. These funds will be handled with the same care and attention as all previous Community Funding Proposals, with liquidations done in a fashion that will not adversely affect the market. In practice, the effort of this liquidation will add depth to the AKT market for buyers looking to enter.

In some cases, the Overclock Labs will use structured market-making (MM) activity to manage funds responsibly. Conversions will take place gradually over defined trading windows rather than through large sell transactions. Spreading activity over longer windows helps ensure that each trade reduces the likelihood of noticeable price movements and helps maintain a stable market for all participants. This measured approach also allows the Overclock Labs to meet operational needs while minimizing market impact and supporting steady liquidity within the AKT ecosystem.

Please feel free to share any thoughts, questions or other feedback in this discussion thread.

Transparent Reporting

The Provider Console will display current GPUs on the network along with new GPUs brought on through the PIP.

All costs and records will be made publicly available through reports to ensure maximum transparency and accountability.

[aistin1]

I dont think this should be passed there is no demand on Akash for these gpus there for this should not be approved. If this is approved it proves that OCL team has all validators in there pockets. Most all the gpus are trial gpus/ akash giving trials to users plus gpus that akash leases there own gpus to show that there is more demand for gpus when there isnt. Akash already has gotten plenty of funds for gpus and a bunch of other lies like B200 coming soon which they couldnt get but already got the funds for it.

Akash hasnt released a good or useful feature they think they can just keep asking for money without releasing updates to providers no one validating anything OCL has released, There hasnt been any new features for providers since the gpu was released which is going on 3 years now. The CEO Greg just doesnt have a clue, And no one is standing up and holding akash accountable espically the validators they just keep approving these proposals without validating Akash claims and all there leases have been Trial accounts with bots and people just keep handing more money to them without them doing anything actually good and useful.

[brewsterdrinkwater]

@aistin1 The Akash community appreciates you taking the time to write a comment for this discussion.

I am a member of the core team, Overclock Labs (OCL), and would like to clarify some items that you have mentioned. There are a number of organizations using the Akash Network and GPUs on the marketplace. The goal of this proposal is to maintain current infrastructure for companies currently building on Akash, and offer additional resources for news users that cannot find these in demand resources when they are exploring the Akash Network. Please refer to https://akash.network/blog/ and https://akash.network/case-studies/ for further insights on just a few examples of what’s being built on Akash with these resources.

Anyone can bring a B200 onto the Akash Network (docs); although current demand favors H100s, H200s, and A100s. Thus, Overclock Labs has proposed shifting these B200 funds towards compute resources that are actively being used. Please refer to section 4.1 of the proposal.

As someone who works closely with Akash Validators, there is a great deal of pride in knowing that the Akash Validator set is very decentralized. It can be seen during network upgrades, and other moments, how challenging it is to find and organize a truly decentralized validator set. As an aside the OCL team consistently returns unused funds from any proposals. The team has a track record of being good stewards with community pool funding, and wins and losses are shared transparently.

Since the Akash GPU marketplace launched on the Akash Network, there have been a number of Provider upgrades to increase capabilities of the provider. Akash Network is open source, so Akash provider releases are tracked publicly. Here is an example of a some upgrades:

• 0.10 SDK 53
• 0.8 JWT/lets encrypt
• 0.6 stability improvements
• 0.5 inventory operator and more backend improvements

Many of these provider improvements have been based upon customer feedback, and various features that needed to be unlocked. The Akash Network community has talked a great deal about how the CosmosSDK53 migration slowed featured development. Presently, the Akash community is looking forward to VM support, Baremetal support, expanded support of AMD resources on Akash and a host of other provider focused features. The focus of the Akash Community and the core team is around driving demand, retaining users, and scaling from there.

I would urge you to join sig-provider meetings, or other Akash community meetings to stay up to date. This would be another way to ask your questions, give feedback, and contribute to the growth of the Akash Network..

[aistin1]

@aistin1 The Akash community appreciates you taking the time to write a comment for this discussion.

I am a member of the core team, Overclock Labs (OCL), and would like to clarify some items that you have mentioned. There are a number of organizations using the Akash Network and GPUs on the marketplace. The goal of this proposal is to maintain current infrastructure for companies currently building on Akash, and offer additional resources for news users that cannot find these in demand resources when they are exploring the Akash Network. Please refer to https://akash.network/blog/ and https://akash.network/case-studies/ for further insights on just a few examples of what’s being built on Akash with these resources.

Anyone can bring a B200 onto the Akash Network (docs); although current demand favors H100s, H200s, and A100s. Thus, Overclock Labs has proposed shifting these B200 funds towards compute resources that are actively being used. Please refer to section 4.1 of the proposal.

As someone who works closely with Akash Validators, there is a great deal of pride in knowing that the Akash Validator set is very decentralized. It can be seen during network upgrades, and other moments, how challenging it is to find and organize a truly decentralized validator set. As an aside the OCL team consistently returns unused funds from any proposals. The team has a track record of being good stewards with community pool funding, and wins and losses are shared transparently.

Since the Akash GPU marketplace launched on the Akash Network, there have been a number of Provider upgrades to increase capabilities of the provider. Akash Network is open source, so Akash provider releases are tracked publicly. Here is an example of a some upgrades:

• 0.10 SDK 53
• 0.8 JWT/lets encrypt
• 0.6 stability improvements
• 0.5 inventory operator and more backend improvements

Many of these provider improvements have been based upon customer feedback, and various features that needed to be unlocked. The Akash Network community has talked a great deal about how the CosmosSDK53 migration slowed featured development. Presently, the Akash community is looking forward to VM support, Baremetal support, expanded support of AMD resources on Akash and a host of other provider focused features. The focus of the Akash Community and the core team is around driving demand, retaining users, and scaling from there.

I would urge you to join sig-provider meetings, or other Akash community meetings to stay up to date. This would be another way to ask your questions, give feedback, and contribute to the growth of the Akash Network..

You might be a member of the core team but you clearly do not validate the code of the systems espically the providers code you probably dont validate the market place you probably dont know exactly the amount of gpus Akash themself lease, Then you dont validate how many leases are trial accounts/free money accounts that give away to users.

The website still promises B200/300s are comming soon yet you guys have no intentions of adding any now because you cant get them or you want to save money for other gpus I dont know But clearly there is some issues with the OCL team and nothing has been confirmed so why keep it on the main website if this proposal is going to get passed clearly you guys arent going to get any B200s anytime soon. There isnt any demand for any gpus right now what do you validate to setup a proposal to ask for more money for gpus that arent in demand right now? This doesnt make any sense to me you guys see a spike in leases and rent the gpus yourself for the propostal of the 5090s to make it look like there in demand when they are not.

From what ive seen I dont ever see any validators comment on anything no user comment on any proposals the OCL team proposes no one goes againsts or questions anything you guys do which tells me that validators do not check anything and they just follow and approve everything OCL proposes even if it doesnt get validated.

There has been no stablity improvements to Providers themself they are pretty much exactly the same as they been if not even worse
The inventory operator is garbage if there is alot of bids on the network the inventory does not release the inventory when it says it does and it just fills up the provider with inventory and not to mention how akash holds the bids in escrow for much longer then they used too, and it causes providers to run out of funds with no sign of any OCL fixing anything. Then you guys keep asking for more money without fixing anything.

You guys should really get your code together or Akash is Dead in the water. Keep making promises without delivering anything.

[hard-nett]

correct me if im wrong, but akashML is a closed source, private product that is not directly revenue generating for akash network, and the proposal gives justification for spending community funds to pay providers (majority in contract with OCL), because akashML is used?

at the time of writing this, ~28% gpus are utilized (50% less than the average communicated here), curious as to how many exactly are in use for akashml?

• this proposal as for ~40% of the entire community pool supply, at one of the lowest price points of akt in its history.

pretty loud signal of a proposal for subsidizing supply, my suggestion is prioritize supporting tooling that makes integrations frictionless, more decentralized, and directly revenue generating, so that incentives for gpu providers are too good to overlook, and dont take a comp-sci degree and a week of tinkering to become an audited provider.