TLDR
- Ahmad Shadid, one of the co-founders and CEO of io.net, stepped down from his role 2 days before the project’s token launch on Binance Launchpad.
- Tory Green, the other co-founder and former COO, has taken over as the new CEO of io.net.
- Shadid cited “allegations regarding his past” as the reason for his resignation, but did not provide details.
- There have been concerns and criticisms about io.net’s reported GPU numbers and Shadid’s involvement in previous crypto projects.
- Despite the leadership change, io.net plans to proceed with its token launch on June 11, with Shadid contributing 1 million tokens to the project’s foundation.
Io.net, a Solana-based decentralized infrastructure provider that allows users to rent out graphics processing unit (GPU) power, has undergone a significant leadership change just days before the launch of its native token.
Ahmad Shadid, one of the co-founders and the CEO of io.net, stepped down from his role on June 9, 2024, citing “allegations regarding his past” as the reason for his departure.
Shadid’s resignation came just two days before the scheduled launch of io.net’s token, IO, on Binance’s Launchpool on June 11.
$IO Nation, Today I am stepping down as the CEO of https://t.co/pI9FcfdM87, effective immediately. https://t.co/pI9FcfdM87 has grown to be one of the fastest growing decentralized AI companies in the world. After careful consideration, I have decided that it is in the best…
— SHADID | $IO™ (@shadid_io) June 9, 2024
Despite the timing of his departure, Shadid emphasized that his decision to step down was made to “allow io.net to move forward without distraction and to focus on its growth and success.”
Replacing Shadid as the new CEO is Tory Green, the other co-founder of io.net and the former Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Green expressed his commitment to executing on the company’s vision of becoming “the world’s largest AI compute network and bring AI to the world.”
While Shadid did not provide specific details regarding the “allegations” mentioned in his announcement, the project has faced criticism and scrutiny in recent months.
Competitors and industry analysts have raised concerns about the accuracy of io.net’s reported GPU numbers and Shadid’s involvement in previous crypto projects, primarily Arabic-language ones.
Martin Shkreli, a notable figure in the crypto space, was among those who questioned the varying metrics presented by io.net regarding the size of its network.
ionet changed their UI so it doesn't show their utilization anymore. but you can do some quick maths.https://t.co/su4Ru2WHRv 194 GPUs running at the moment. this is actually pretty high relative to some other times i've measured where it was <50.
18,000 GPUs on network,…
— Martin Shkreli (e/acc) (@MartinShkreli) May 10, 2024
The company claimed that it had experienced a “GPU metadata attack” in April, which resulted in a temporary drop in the number of active GPU connections from 600,000 to 10,000.
Greg Osuri, the co-founder and CEO of Akash Network, a competitor in the decentralized infrastructure space, welcomed the leadership change at io.net but stated that questions remain regarding the allegations against Shadid.
Despite the controversy surrounding Shadid’s departure, io.net remains committed to its token launch on June 11.
According to the project’s plans, 95,000,000 IO tokens will be released at launch, with a maximum supply of 800,000,000 IO tokens.
Shadid has announced his intention to contribute 1 million IO tokens from his personal stash towards the company’s Internet of GPUs Foundation to “help grow the ecosystem.”
However, concerns have been raised about the possibility of Shadid “dumping” his IO tokens on launch and “disappearing.”
Shadid addressed these concerns by clarifying that his supply of tokens is subject to a 4-year lockup and vesting period, and that no investor, advisor, or team member can sell their monthly vested tokens until June 2025.
As io.net moves forward with its token launch and new leadership, additional changes within the company’s leadership team are expected to be announced in the coming days, according to the new CEO, Tory Green.
