An AI Edge Play To Narrow the Digital Divide
January 28, 2026
Source: Data Center Richness
Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (CNIXP) and Hunter Newby are featured in this Data Center Richness article.
A network patch panel within an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) operated by DE-CIX, which will support a new edge AI partnership. (Image: DE-CIX)Internet exchange points have been key enablers in the growth of the Internet, connecting networks and businesses and improving the latency of online services.
Now an innovative partnership hopes to play a similar role in the growth of AI, extending low-latency inference to underserved markets across the U.S.
AI specialist QumulusAI is teaming with Moonshot Energy and Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (IXP.US) to create a national platform that pairs carrier-neutral interconnection points with modular GPU infrastructure to deliver low-latency AI services to secondary markets across the U.S.
The initiative flips the script on existing narratives about AI and communities, building lightweight facilities that deliver digital services to local businesses, while boosting connectivity.
“We’re building a (digital) meeting point for the region, and we’re giving back to the community,” said Hunter Newby, the co-CEO of IXP.us and CEO of Newby Ventures.
The partnership’s roadmap sees a big opportunity in regional cities with universities, healthcare and financial services ecosystems. These are the places where connectivity and low-latency AI services can quickly deliver value.
The three primary partners bring specialized expertise that spans digital infrastructure.
“This partnership represents the physical convergence of power, compute, and interconnection at the exact point where AI demand is moving,” said Ethan Ellenberg, CEO of Moonshot. “By pairing Moonshot’s modular electrical and AI infrastructure with the IXP.us carrier-neutral interconnection model and QumulusAI’s GPU platforms, we are creating a repeatable national architecture that delivers ultra-low-latency AI without the constraints of hyperscale data centers.”
The Power of the Internet Exchange Point (IXP)
The initial deployment will commence in July at the IXP.us launch site on the Wichita State University campus in Wichita, Kansas. Expansion is planned for an additional 25 markets in the first phase of deployment, with 100 more to follow.
IXP is short for Internet Exchange Point, facilities that play a foundational role in digital infrastructure. The Internet is a “network of networks” and IXPs are the physical locations where the many networks - ISPs, content providers, and enterprises - meet to swap traffic.
Historically, these exchanges have been concentrated in major business markets like New York, Chicago, or Silicon Valley. If you are in a regional market without a local IXP, your data must travel long distances - often at additional expense - just to reach another network in your own city.
By placing AI compute pods directly adjacent to these exchanges, the partnership eliminates unnecessary “hops” across the internet. This in turn enables AI inference and other digital services where latency matters.
Building Connections in New Places
Research by Connected Nation found that 14 states have no carrier-neutral IXP facilities, putting them at a significant disadvantage in taking full advantage of inference and other emerging AI services.
“Building upon Connected Nation’s original mission, IXP.us and our strategic relationship with Moonshot and QumulusAI will ensure that no state gets left behind in the AI revolution,” says Tom Ferree, CEO of Connected Nation.
“Wichita and cities like it need and deserve a single meeting place, an Internet Exchange,” said Newby. “We will enable the first scalable, low-latency compute infrastructure directly adjacent to our network-dense interconnection facilities, including on many university campuses.”
Newby is a pioneer in connected real estate as a co-founder of Telx, which operated at the 60 Hudson Street carrier hotel in New York, building one of the industry’s first connected commerce ecosystems.
Over the past decade, Newby has been on a mission to bring IXPs to new places. He’s been an investor and advisor to many interconnection firms, including Netrality, Colo Atl, NJFX, Fibre Centre, Allied Fiber and DataVerge. Newby has also focused on modular designs as a way to deploy capital-efficient systems that can scale gradually.
In 2022, Newby began working with Ferree and Connected Nation, which works to improve Americans' access to broadband. They mapped out 125 target cities for a network of modular regional IXPs.
That was just months before ChatGPT launched, ushering in the AI boom and expanding the focus for the venture.
QumulusAI Brings the Inference Power
In 2025 it became clear that inference would be a key growth vector for AI.
Some use cases for inference don’t require low latency. But some use cases feature context-aware services and near-real-time decisions, which require latency to be measured in milliseconds. One example is fraud detection for financial services firms, which requires real-time decisions about transactions.
“AI workloads are increasingly inference-driven, latency-sensitive, and distributed, but the infrastructure hasn’t kept pace,” said Mike Maniscalco, CEO of QumulusAI. “This partnership allows us to place GPU compute directly at the network edge, where data moves and decisions happen.
“Together with Moonshot and IXP.us, we’re building a national platform that makes high-performance AI compute practical, scalable, and economically viable beyond hyperscale data centers.”
In 2025, Moonshot launched a dedicated GPU-as-a-Service operating company to expand beyond manufacturing into AI compute infrastructure. This led to QAI Moon, a joint venture between Moonshot Energy and QumulusAI to create a nationally distributed GPU-as-a-Service offering optimized for low latency.
QumulusAI s a vertically integrated AI infrastructure company providing on-demand and bare metal GPU compute. In October it lined up a $500 million financing facility to fund future growth.
In November, QAI Moon executed a Memorandum of Understanding with IXP.us to serve as the anchor AI compute customer across the IXP.us national footprint, with QumulusAI providing the initial GPU-as-a-Service workloads and customer demand driving phased deployment.
QAI Moon is currently targeting an initial deployment of AI compute infrastructure at 25 of the IXP.us 125-site roadmap, with a goal of full-scale, national deployment within five years.
Here’s a look at the timeline and benefits:
The modular facility will have two distinct sections - a GPU module supporting high-density compute and cooling, and a network module housing the IXP. The modules are designed for 500 kW with the ability to add additional modules to reach 1.5 to 2 megawatts per installation.
Mobilizing Veteran Network Builders
The IXP operation will feature partners with some serious bona fides
- DE-CIX will serve as the Internet Exchange (IX) operator. The company is one of the largest IX operators in the world, managing the global exchange of more than 79 exabytes of data in 2025.
- Connectbase is handling all Outside Plant Fiber, transport and IP transit networks entering the IXP, uniquely position the platform to meet the stringent, low-latency connectivity requirements of next-generation AI workloads.
- TOWARDEX will provide diverse manhole and conduit access design and construction.
Ivo Ivanov CEO of DE-CIX:
“As AI workloads become increasingly latency-sensitive, the convergence of interconnection and compute is a natural and necessary evolution of digital infrastructure. By bringing AI Pods directly to Internet Exchanges, this initiative demonstrates how neutral, distributed platforms can enable the next generation of real-time AI services at scale.”
Ben Edmond, CEO & Founder of Connectbase:
“This partnership represents a new model for AI infrastructure, placing GPU compute directly at carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Points to minimize latency and maximize network choice. Connectbase is proud to support IXP.us by providing full transparency and system-of-record visibility for all fiber, transport, and IP transit entering each site. As AI workloads move closer to the network edge, operational clarity across physical and commercial connectivity becomes foundational to scale.”
The Road Ahead
The era of AI is often discussed in terms of intelligence, but its success will ultimately depend on plumbing - the physical switches, cooling systems, and fiber optic cables that deliver services to users. By decentralizing AI, this partnership is betting that the future of digital infrastructure is not just bigger, but closer.
Data Center Richness is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
