What Vapor IO does

Vapor IO is an Austin, Texas-based edge computing infrastructure company that develops and operates the Kinetic Grid, a nationwide edge-to-edge platform combining micro-modular data center colocation, software-defined metro and backbone networking, and virtualized interconnection. The platform is built on proprietary Vapor Edge Modules (VEM-20, VEM-150, VEM-180), Zayo-powered dark fiber with PAM4 optics, and the open-source Synse telemetry system, and spans 36 US markets with 252 edge interconnection sites, 19.44 MW of power capacity, and 30,027 miles of private fiber. The company targets telcos, cable MSOs, CDNs, cloud providers, enterprises, private 5G providers, and municipalities, offering recurring colocation, networking, and AI inference services delivered via direct enterprise sales and an extensive channel partner ecosystem that includes Crown Castle, Zayo, VMware, Digital Realty, DE-CIX, NVIDIA, VAST Data, Supermicro, and Hivelocity. Vapor IO monetizes the Kinetic Grid through subscription colocation (quarter-rack to multi-rack), interconnection via the Kinetic Edge Exchange, software-defined networking, and the Zero Gap AI network-delivered AI inference service, with custom quote-based pricing and a 90-day deployment timeline for customer-ready markets. Founded in 2014 by Cole Crawford, the company has raised approximately $90 million across funding rounds led by Goldman Sachs, Berkshire Partners, and Crown Castle, and operates as a distributed, remote-first organization with 51-100 employees.

Name

Vapor IO

Legal name

Vapor IO, Inc.

Website

https://vapor.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Vapor IO operates the Kinetic Grid, a nationwide edge-to-edge platform combining micro-modular colocation, software-defined networking, and virtualized interconnection across 36 US markets, serving telcos, cable MSOs, CDNs, enterprises, and municipalities with recurring colocation and AI inference services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Edge Computing Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

General-Purpose Compute (VMs & Bare Metal IaaS) (HDABAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI Server Systems & HGX/Accelerator Platforms (HDAAAAAB), End-to-End Enterprise AI Platforms (MLOps & Model Lifecycle Management) (HDAEANAA)

Keywords

• Edge computing infrastructure
• Edge colocation services
• Edge networking platforms
• Modular data centers
• Edge interconnection services

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Edge Colocation: Lease of micro-modular data center space (quarter-rack, single-rack, and multi-rack increments) across Vapor Edge Modules in 33+ US markets. Multi-tenant, neutral-host model allowing customers to deploy servers, storage, and software in edge facilities. Charged on a recurring basis with consumption scaling.
2. Edge Interconnection: Kinetic Edge Exchange (KEX) provides virtualized interconnection enabling cross-connects between networks at the edge. Unlimited cross-connects are included in the platform price, with revenue generated as part of the overall platform subscription.
3. Edge Networking and Backbone Services: Carrier-grade multipath IP connectivity across markets via dedicated private backbones powered by Zayo dark fiber. Software-defined network configuration, flat L2 networks, and edge-to-edge connectivity delivered as a service. Revenue from dedicated bandwidth and network connectivity services.
4. Zero Gap AI (Network-Delivered AI): AI-as-a-Service offering built on Vapor IO's Kinetic Grid infrastructure and Supermicro's AI-optimized servers with NVIDIA GPUs. Provides on-demand AI inference capabilities delivered over the network with no servers on-premises, using cloud economics. Enables new revenue streams for service providers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Vapor IO operates the Kinetic Grid, a nationwide edge-to-edge platform that combines micro-modular data center colocation, software-defined metro and national networking, and virtualized interconnection (Kinetic Edge Exchange) across 36 US markets. The company also delivers Zero Gap AI, a network-delivered AI-as-a-Service offering, and INZONE, Industry 4.0 deployments in specific metropolitan areas, all targeting telcos, cable MSOs, CDNs, cloud providers, and enterprises that need low-latency edge compute.

Product overview

Vapor IO offers the Kinetic Grid Platform as its core product—a nationwide edge-to-edge infrastructure platform combining colocation (via Vapor Edge Modules), networking, and interconnection services across 36 US markets. The platform is delivered through modular components including Edge-to-Edge Colocation, Edge-to-Edge Networking, the Kinetic Edge Exchange (KEX) for interconnection, and Edge-to-Edge Intelligence powered by the Synse open source telemetry system. Built on top of this infrastructure, Zero Gap AI provides network-delivered AI-as-a-Service using NVIDIA GPUs and Supermicro servers, while INZONE delivers Industry 4.0 solutions for specific geographic markets. The Kinetic Grid Portal provides the web-based interface for managing deployments. The platform targets cloud operators, telecom providers, CDNs, and enterprises requiring low-latency edge computing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kinetic Grid: The Kinetic Grid platform is the only edge-to-edge system that combines colocation, networking and interconnection infrastructure for modern applications.
• Zero Gap AI
• INZONE
• Vapor Edge Modules
• Kinetic Edge Exchange (KEX)
• Synse

Products and services

• Kinetic Grid Platform Nationwide edge-to-edge infrastructure platform combining colocation, networking, and interconnection services across 36 US markets. Designed for telcos, cable MSOs, CDNs, cloud providers, and enterprises requiring low-latency, near-premises edge computing with hyperscale-grade capabilities.
• Zero Gap AI Network-delivered AI-as-a-Service platform providing on-demand AI inference capabilities without on-premises servers, using Vapor IO's Kinetic Grid infrastructure with Supermicro AI-optimized servers and NVIDIA GPUs. Available in 36 US markets with cloud economics.
• INZONE Industry 4.0 infrastructure and services zone delivering end-to-end solutions combining Kinetic Grid implementation with partner technologies for near-premises edge computing in industrial and retail zones. First deployed in Las Vegas.
• Kinetic Edge Exchange (KEX) Virtualized interconnection fabric enabling machine-speed cross-connects between networks at the edge. Allows networks to interconnect locally at edge locations, eliminating backhaul to centralized facilities and reducing latency.
• Kinetic Grid Portal Interactive map-based web tool for planning, monitoring, and operating Kinetic Grid deployments across all micro data center edge nodes. Provides facility status, network route visualization, fiber routes, IX points, and cloud data center locations with real-time telemetry via open APIs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sub-100 microsecond latency from radio to server — supporting O-RAN 5G deployments and real-time AI inference at the edge
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

AI capability7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Crown CastlecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrown Castle provides fiber and real estate assets for Kinetic Edge facilities and networks. Jointly developed a product enabling new classes of mobile and wireless edge applications spanning edge to core. Crown Castle brings one of the largest fiber footprints in the country and pioneered edge infrastructure. Chicago was the first Kinetic Grid city where Crown Castle connected the Kinetic Grid directly to AWS.
• ZayocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZayo provides long-haul dark fiber for edge-to-edge connectivity across the Kinetic Grid nationally. Zayo's dark fiber strands are lit with customized PAM4 optics by Vapor IO to provide carrier-grade backbones. Vapor IO's software-defined network incorporates Zayo's fiber platform for programmatic provisioning of private backbones across markets.
• VMwarecoreTechnology or IntegrationVMware provides its Telco Cloud Platform for multi-tenant, software-driven wireless RAN integration on the Kinetic Grid. VMware's Multi-Cloud Services Grid (MCSG) integrated with Vapor IO's Kinetic Grid serves as an innovation testbed for the Open Grid Alliance vision. VMware has selected the Kinetic Grid as underpinning infrastructure for its MCSG implementation.
• Digital RealtymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital Realty, a leading global data center colocation provider, partnered with Vapor IO to create a joint core-to-edge continuum connecting Digital Realty's PlatformDIGITAL with the Kinetic Grid. The Kinetic Edge Exchange enables software-defined interconnection and data exchange between the Kinetic Grid and Digital Realty facilities in initial markets Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas.
• DE-CIXmajorTechnology or IntegrationDE-CIX, operator of the world's largest carrier and data center neutral Internet Exchange, is available through the Kinetic Grid in Chicago and Dallas markets. Networks can reach nearly 100 networks at DE-CIX Dallas and over 2,100 networks globally through this connection. One VLAN via the Kinetic Grid provides turnkey Layer 2 private network access.
• HivelocitymajorTechnology or IntegrationHivelocity provides bare metal servers, custom built servers, GPU servers, and API automation controls enabling code-controlled infrastructure scaling. The partnership enables customers who prefer not to procure and operate their own hardware to use Hivelocity's compute infrastructure on the Kinetic Grid.
• Open Grid AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVapor IO is a founding member of the Open Grid Alliance, a go-to-market consortium of like-minded companies determined to rearchitect the internet from the edge. The OGA accelerates innovation from fiber optics to workload automation, creating a platform to control, secure, orchestrate, and automate workloads for next-generation applications.
• SupermicrocoreTechnology or IntegrationSupermicro provides AI-optimized servers powered by NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip as the hardware foundation for Vapor IO's Zero Gap AI platform. Supermicro remains at the heart of Zero Gap AI services combining NVIDIA and VAST Data capabilities.
• VAST DatacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVapor IO and VAST Data forged an alliance to integrate the VAST Data Platform into Vapor IO's Zero Gap AI. The combined solution provides an edge-to-core AI fabric capable of simultaneously catering to cost, latency, accuracy, and resiliency priorities. Enterprises can train models centrally and deploy real-time inferencing at the edge.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationNVIDIA provides the AI Aerial platform for AI-RAN 5G wireless networks and GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip for AI workloads at the edge. The collaboration enabled the world's first Private 5G AI-RAN solution deployed in Las Vegas on Vapor IO's Zero Gap platform. NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs handle real-time data routing and precision 5G timing.
• AlefEdgemajorTechnology or IntegrationAlefEdge deployed its Software-Defined Mobile Edge (SD-ME) platform on the Kinetic Grid using Hivelocity's bare metal cloud. Provides private wireless mobile edge computing services on LTE, CBRS, and Wi-Fi networks, as well as 5G networks, enabling enterprise customers with near-premises ultra-low latency and high bandwidth services.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)majorTechnology or IntegrationAWS Outposts is offered as part of the INZONE Las Vegas testbed environment, making it possible to run AWS workloads as if they were on-premises in a near-premises edge configuration. Crown Castle facilitates AWS connectivity to the Kinetic Grid in multiple markets.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EdgeConneX: EdgeConneX operates a global network of purpose-built edge data centers serving carriers, cloud providers, and content providers — directly overlapping Vapor IO's edge colocation and interconnection model, with a similar focus on distributed metros outside traditional hyperscale regions.
• StackPath: StackPath provides edge compute, CDN, and cloud services through a distributed platform of edge nodes — competing directly with Vapor IO on edge colocation and edge-delivered compute, particularly for low-latency enterprise and CDN workloads.
• Zenlayer: Zenlayer operates an on-demand edge and cloud platform connecting enterprises across 300+ PoPs globally — directly comparable to Vapor IO's Kinetic Grid in offering distributed colocation plus software-defined networking for low-latency enterprise deployments.

Broad incumbents

• Cloudflare: Cloudflare's global edge network delivers compute, storage, and zero-trust services from 300+ cities — overlapping Vapor IO's edge value proposition but at much greater scale, with a software/PaaS approach rather than physical edge colocation.
• Edgio (formerly Limelight Networks): Edgio operates an edge delivery network combining CDN, edge compute, and application security — directly comparable to Vapor IO's edge content delivery and compute capabilities, with a broader incumbent footprint.
• Equinix: Equinix is the largest global colocation and interconnection provider with hundreds of IBX data centers — overlapping Vapor IO's colocation and interconnection value proposition at vastly greater scale and broader geographic reach.
• Digital Realty: Digital Realty is a global hyperscale data center provider that has partnered with Vapor IO to extend from core to edge — directly comparable in colocation and interconnection services, but at much larger scale focused on core metros rather than distributed edge.
• CoreSite (American Tower): CoreSite, now part of American Tower, operates carrier-neutral data centers with strong cloud on-ramps and interconnection — comparable to Vapor IO's KEX-style interconnection approach, focused on fewer but denser US metros.
• QTS Data Centers (BlackRock): QTS provides hyperscale and enterprise data center solutions across the US — overlapping Vapor IO's colocation business, though focused primarily on larger mega-scale campuses rather than distributed micro-modular edge.

Emerging players

• Section (formerly Hedgehog): Section operates an edge compute platform built on a multi-cloud, distributed infrastructure model — an emerging player with partial overlap to Vapor IO's edge value proposition, focused on developer-facing edge application deployment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vaporio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vaporio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vapor IO