Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points

What Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points does

Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (dba IXP.us) is a Delaware LLC formed in January 2023 as a 50/50 joint venture between nonprofit Connected Nation, Inc. and Newby Ventures, the personal holding vehicle of carrier-hotel pioneer Hunter Newby. The company develops carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) facilities in U.S. regional hub communities, targeting 125 cities across 44 states with an initial focus on research university campuses. Its alpha site at Wichita State University in Kansas broke ground in May 2025 and is scheduled for mid-2026 commissioning, supported by a $5 million state grant and a 40-year ground lease.

The core technology stack combines DE-CIX's global peering platform (the exclusive IX operator in every IXP.us facility, providing 250+ peers and one-hop connectivity to major U.S. exchanges) with physical colocation at neutral meet points. A January 2026 Strategic Commercial Agreement with Moonshot Energy and QumulusAI—operating as the QAI Moon joint venture—layers modular AI compute pods (~2,000 kW per module) onto each IXP, with dual 400G IP transit from four independent ISPs, redundant 400G IX ports on DE-CIXaaS switches, and direct dark-fiber adjacency between IXP interconnection and AI compute. Adjacent partnerships with TOWARDEX (conduit/dark fiber) and Connectbase (network system-of-record) round out the deployment stack.

The business model spans three revenue streams: (1) managed colocation and interconnection services at IXP facilities, billed under multi-year contracts with no monthly recurring cross-connect fees; (2) usage-based GPU-as-a-Service delivered through QAI Moon for low-latency AI inference; and (3) a marketplace/commission layer on wholesale IP transit and backhaul, positioned to reduce carrier costs by up to 90%. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales to municipalities, universities, carriers, and ISPs with channel partnerships through Moonshot, QumulusAI, DE-CIX, TOWARDEX, and Connectbase. Target customers include research universities (anchor partners), local ISPs and network operators, enterprises requiring cloud/content connectivity, hospitals, school districts, and AI enterprises running latency-sensitive inference workloads. The company is pre-revenue, with no disclosed headcount or institutional equity funding beyond the Kansas grant.

Name

Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points

Legal name

Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points, LLC

Website

https://ixp.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (IXP.us) is a 50/50 joint venture developing carrier-neutral internet exchange facilities in 125 U.S. regional hub cities. It serves ISPs, research universities, and enterprises, and is layering edge AI compute onto IXP sites via the QAI Moon partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Network Interconnection Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Facilities Management Services (541513), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210)

SIC

Computer Communications Equipment (3576), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) & Peering Services (HDABALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interconnection-Focused Colocation (IX / Meet-Me-Room Ecosystems) (HDABACAF), Data Center Interconnection (DCI) & Cross-Connects (HDABALAB), Carrier Interconnection & Peering Exchanges (IXPs, private interconnect, cross-connect) (HDAIAEAG)

Keywords

• Carrier-neutral interconnection
• Internet exchange points
• Network peering services
• Colocation facilities
• Wholesale IP transit

Headquarters

HQ city

Bowling Green

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. IXP Facility Services: Carrier-neutral IXP facilities providing physical space for network interconnection with no monthly recurring cross-connect fees, generating revenue from colocation, peering, and interconnection services to ISPs, carriers, content providers, and enterprises.
2. GPU-as-a-Service (through QAI Moon): AI compute services through QAI Moon joint venture deploying GPU-as-a-Service at IXP locations for low-latency inference workloads.
3. Wholesale IP Transit Marketplace: Competitive marketplace for wholesale internet (IP transit) and backhaul (transport), with multiple providers competing to reduce costs by up to 90%.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (dba IXP.us) develops and operates carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) facilities in regional U.S. hub communities, enabling local ISPs, carriers, content providers, and enterprises to directly peer and exchange traffic. The company plans to deploy 125 IXP sites across 44 states, and through the QAI Moon joint venture with Moonshot Energy and QumulusAI, it colocates modular AI compute pods at IXP locations for low-latency GPU-as-a-Service delivery.

Product overview

IXP.us operates a platform-plus-modules architecture consisting of carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) as the core infrastructure, augmented by the QAI Moon AI Compute Platform developed through a strategic partnership with Moonshot Energy and QumulusAI. The QAI Moon platform includes modular AI Pods deploying ~2,000kW GPU compute units and QumulusAI's GPU-as-a-Service delivery model. DE-CIX provides the IX platform operator services within facilities. The system combines electrical infrastructure, GPU orchestration, and carrier-neutral interconnection to deliver low-latency AI inference at 25 initial sites, scaling to 125 locations across U.S. university research campuses and municipalities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Omnexus IX: Internet exchange platform brand mentioned on the IXP.us website navigation.

Products and services

• IXP.us Carrier-Neutral Internet Exchange Points Carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point facilities enabling local networks (ISPs, carriers, Tier 1 providers, mobile networks, education networks, cloud and content providers, AI data centers) to directly peer and exchange data traffic locally. Reduces latency, improves network performance, and provides competitive wholesale IP transit options that can reduce costs by up to 90%. Includes the alpha site at Wichita State University in Kansas.
• QAI Moon AI Compute Platform Nationally distributed AI compute platform developed through joint venture with Moonshot Energy and QumulusAI. Pairs carrier-neutral IXPs with modular AI Pods delivering low-latency AI inference closer to networks, data sources, and end users as an alternative to centralized hyperscale data centers. Initial deployment begins at the WSU alpha site by July 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce wholesale IP transit costs by up to 90%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• Moonshot Energy (QAI Moon)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2025Strategic Commercial Agreement to design and deploy nationally distributed AI compute platform pairing IXPs with modular AI Pods at 25 initial sites, scaling to 125. QAI Moon is the joint venture between Moonshot Energy and QumulusAI formed in mid-2025. Moonshot provides modular electrical and AI infrastructure; QAI Moon provides GPU orchestration and GPU-as-a-Service.
• QumulusAIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2025Provider of inference-optimized GPU-as-a-Service platform. Through QAI Moon joint venture with Moonshot Energy, QumulusAI provides GPU orchestration, workload delivery, and commercial operating model enabling AI compute deployment closer to networks, data sources, and end users.
• TOWARDEXkeyTechnology or Integration · 15 January 2025Provider of diverse manhole and conduit access design and construction. Developer of the Hub Express System in Boston, the nation's first large-scale Meet-Me Street network. Provides dark fiber infrastructure access critical for AI and inferencing connectivity at IXP facilities.
• ConnectbasekeyTechnology or Integration · 15 January 2025Provides full transparency and system-of-record visibility for all fiber, transport, and IP transit networks entering each IXP site. Enables orderly assembly of Outside Plant Fiber, transport and IP transit networks with operational clarity for network operators.
• Wichita State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023Community anchor institution partner providing 40-year ground lease for Kansas's first carrier-neutral IXP facility. Located on WSU Innovation Campus, the facility serves as the alpha site and archetype for national deployment. WSU is Kansas's only urban public research university with over 23,000 students.
• DE-CIXcoreTechnology or Integration · 15 May 2023DE-CIX serves as the exclusive IX platform operator within CNIXP facilities. Partnership enables integration of each IX into DE-CIX's North American and global ecosystem, providing one-hop connectivity to major exchanges in New York, Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix, Richmond, and beyond. DE-CIX brings nearly three decades of IX operation experience and the world's largest peering ecosystem.
• Newby VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 202350/50 joint venture partner with Connected Nation, Inc. to form Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points LLC (CNIXP). Led by carrier hotel pioneer Hunter Newby with over 20 years of experience in carrier-neutral colocation and interconnection facilities including ColoATL, DataVerge, NJFX, and The Telx Group.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Strengths2 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hunternewby
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/hunternewby

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points