Our story
The internet was meant to be open, yet today’s cloud is controlled by a few corporations, stifling innovation and freedom. Fluence was founded to change that. Shaped by firsthand experiences with censorship and monopolization, we envisioned a decentralized cloud where developers can build, scale, and collaborate—without gatekeepers. By merging blockchain with high-performance computing, Fluence powers a new era of cloudless computing, unlocking limitless innovation for all.
Innovation by Cloudless Labs,
Governed by DAO
Our mission
Fluence was founded in 2017 by Evgeny Ponomarev, Dmitry Kurinskiy, and Tom Trowbridge—leaders in Web3 and decentralized computing. Evgeny, a blockchain builder since 2011, specializes in crypto-economics and protocol design. Dmitry, an expert in distributed systems, architects Fluence’s compute framework. Tom, former President of Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), brings deep experience in scaling blockchain ventures. Together, they are building Fluence to power a decentralized, verifiable, and open cloudless platform.
Evgeny Ponomarev
Co-Founder & COO, Cloudless Labs
Evgeny has built blockchain technologies for over a decade, specializing in crypto-economic design, distributed computing, and product innovation. A recognized voice at major Web3 conferences, he focuses on advancing real-world applications of decentralized infrastructure. He holds a Master's in Technology Entrepreneurship from ITMO University and a Bachelor's in Mathematics from Novosibirsk State University.
Tom Trowbridge
Co-Founder & CEO, Cloudless Labs
A seasoned entrepreneur and investor, Tom was President from inception at Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), driving early growth. He hosts DePIN Day and the DePINed podcast, and invests in top DePIN projects and funds. His background includes roles at Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, and Odey Asset Management, plus a board seat at Stronghold Digital Mining. He holds degrees from Yale and Columbia.
Dmitry Kurinskiy
Co-Founder & CTO, Cloudless Labs
Dmitry is a blockchain and high-load systems expert leading Fluence’s engineering vision. He designed its trustless compute framework using crypto-economic incentives and cryptographic proofs. A former CTO, he built algorithmic trading systems and focuses on distributed computing, category theory, and Infrastructure-as-Code. He holds a Master’s from ITMO University and a Physics degree from Novosibirsk State University.
Bernhard Borges
Chief Scientist, Cloudless Labs
Bernhard is a technologist specializing in distributed systems, game theory, and mechanism design. He held leadership roles at PwC and IBM, where he was a Distinguished Engineer and Academy of Technology member. Former Chief Scientist at Dock, he co-founded xkey and Modiot Labs. A published researcher, he holds a Ph.D. and MBA from Simon Fraser University and completed a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute.
