Gaurav Sharma is the CEO and CTO of io.net, a decentralized GPU compute network focused on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-performance cloud infrastructure. He became CEO in April 2025 after serving as Chief Technology Officer, expanding his role from technical leadership into broader company strategy and execution.
Sharma’s career spans senior engineering and technology roles across crypto, travel technology, e-commerce, cloud infrastructure, and research and development. His background includes work connected to Binance, Agoda, Amazon, eBay, and HP R&D, with a focus on backend engineering, data systems, AI infrastructure, and large-scale technology operations.
At io.net, Sharma leads a company operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence and decentralized physical infrastructure networks, often referred to as DePIN. io.net is designed to aggregate distributed GPU capacity and make that compute available for AI developers, machine learning teams, and businesses that need scalable infrastructure.
The company’s market position reflects one of the most active areas in crypto infrastructure. AI workloads require substantial GPU access, while traditional cloud compute remains concentrated among major centralized providers. io.net’s model offers an alternative supply layer by connecting users that need GPU resources with suppliers that have available compute capacity.
Sharma joined io.net as Chief Technology Officer before becoming CEO in April 2025. In his CTO role, he led technical work connected to io.net’s decentralized cloud platform, including IO Cloud and IO Intelligence. His responsibilities covered architecture, network scaling, backend systems, AI infrastructure, and the company’s product roadmap.
Before io.net, Sharma held senior technology roles across several global organizations. His professional background includes engineering leadership experience at Binance, Agoda, Amazon, eBay, and HP R&D. That career path reflects a long-running focus on building and scaling systems that support high-volume data flows, platform reliability, and operational efficiency.
As CEO and CTO, Sharma combines executive leadership with direct technical oversight. That dual role is important because io.net’s business depends on infrastructure reliability, developer adoption, supplier participation, and the performance of distributed GPU clusters.
His appointment followed a leadership transition in which io.net co-founder Tory Green became Chairperson of the io.net Foundation. Sharma’s move from CTO to CEO placed product execution, technical scaling, and AI compute adoption at the center of io.net’s next phase.
io.net is built around decentralized GPU infrastructure for compute-intensive workloads. Its network is designed to support use cases such as AI model training, machine learning operations, inference, and other GPU-heavy applications.
The io.net ecosystem includes IO Cloud, which provides access to GPU clusters, and IO Intelligence, which supports infrastructure monitoring and analytics. The company positions these products as part of a broader decentralized compute layer for AI builders and infrastructure users.
CryptoSlate tracks the project through its io.net company profile and io.net price and market data page.
In March 2024, Reuters reported that IO Research, the company behind io.net, raised $30 million in a Series A round with participation from investors including Hack VC, Solana Labs, and OKX. The funding round reflected growing investor interest in the overlap between AI infrastructure, blockchain networks, and decentralized compute markets.
The broader market context is central to Sharma’s role. Demand for AI compute has increased pressure on GPU availability, pricing, and infrastructure access. Decentralized compute networks such as io.net are attempting to prove that distributed infrastructure can support AI workloads while offering an alternative to centralized cloud providers.
Sharma’s public career profile points to several recurring areas of specialization:
Sharma’s leadership at io.net is tied to the development of decentralized compute as a Web3 infrastructure category. Unlike consumer-facing crypto applications, GPU compute networks depend on technical supply, enterprise-grade reliability, developer usability, and consistent performance.
His experience across major technology organizations gives him a practical foundation in platform engineering, data systems, and operational scale. At io.net, that experience is applied to a decentralized AI infrastructure market that is still working to define its standards, prove reliability, and attract sustained developer demand.
Decentralized compute networks face practical challenges. These include maintaining consistent performance across distributed suppliers, competing with large cloud providers, attracting AI developers, managing token-linked incentives, and navigating changing expectations around crypto infrastructure.
For io.net, Sharma’s leadership will be measured by the network’s ability to deliver dependable GPU access, improve product usability, and build trust with developers, suppliers, and enterprise users.
Gaurav Sharma is a technology executive focused on decentralized AI infrastructure and large-scale compute systems. As CEO and CTO of io.net, he leads one of the more visible crypto projects attempting to connect blockchain-based coordination with real-world GPU demand.
His transition from CTO to CEO in April 2025 reflects io.net’s emphasis on technical execution as the company works to scale decentralized GPU infrastructure for AI and machine learning workloads. His profile is notable within CryptoSlate’s Directory because it connects crypto infrastructure, AI compute, DePIN, and senior engineering leadership across major technology platforms.
Binance Engineering Leadership Jun 2022 - Jun 2024 
Amazon Senior Developer Nov 2013 - Jan 2016 All images, branding and wording is copyright of Gaurav Sharma. All content on this page is used for informational purposes only. CryptoSlate has no affiliation or relationship with the person mentioned on this page.
