RALEIGH – In a father-and-son deal of sorts, ANEXIO,  a growing provider of data center and infrastructure-as-a-service, has acquired a startup, Standard American Mining, focused on high-performance computing with an initial emphasis on cryptocurrency mining.

ANEXIO is run by veteran IT executive Tony Pompliano.

His son, Anthony, incubated Standard American Mining through Raleigh-based Full Title Capital, where he is a managing partner.

As part of the deal, Anthony becomes chairman of the ANEXIO board.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

According to ANEXIO, the deal positions it “to become the global leader in high-performance computing infrastructure” due to the addition of Standard American Mining’s “high-density Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) facilities”

ANEXIO already operates multiple data centers and provides clients with high-performance computing support.

Standard American Mining was unveiled by the younger Pompliano in November of last year, saying it was incubated within the investment capital firm and already had “built two cryptocurrency mines in the Eastern United States.”

Standard American Mining

Digital currency known as bitcoins, for example, are created by high-performance computing. The so-called “mining” requires tremendous amounts of power and energy.

At the time of launch, Anthony Pompliano predicted it”will become the Standard Oil of the computing industry.”

Investopedia notes that a “GPU is another processing device, but it is specialized for handling display functions. It is the part of a computer that is responsible for its video rendering system.” GPUs have been used in cryptocurrency mining for years, the site adds.

According to ANEXIO, the deal includes the startup’s:

  • Existing GPU infrastructure
  • Systems architecture
  • Proprietary hardware design
  • A team with “deep” GPU expertise

Blending of CPU, GPU

ANEXIO believes that a “strategic blend” of GPUs with better-known Central Process Units (CPU) will be required in data centers to meet high-performance data needs. The firm forecasts growing demand for infrastructure “to support complex computing requirements for emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, self-driving cars, 3D rendering and DNA sequencing.”

“This acquisition is the culmination of a profitable partnership with the Standard American Mining team,” said Tony Pompliano, ANEXIO’s president and CEO, in the announcement.

“The addition of Standard American Mining to ANEXIO complements and enhances our world-class computing infrastructure by adding a number of proprietary systems, along with a highly competent team. We’re excited to acquire immediate GPU expertise that easily plugs into our existing, geographically diverse infrastructure. SAM’s team and facilities will help us achieve our growth goals even faster as we begin to offer increasingly valuable infrastructure to our customers.”

 Jason Williams,  a partner of the younger Pompliano at Full Tilt Capital, said “[T]he team at Standard American Mining began based on a single thesis: The world will quickly transition from being CPU-dependent to GPU-dependent.” The deal “allows Standard American Mining to accelerate our progress by providing access to larger pools of capital and headcount. We’re essentially going from high school straight to the pros.”

ANEXIO operates eight data centers, an IT solutions center and has its own nationwide IP Network.