USD.AI and Barkr Add Residual Value Protection to GPU Loans
Update (October 2026): This post has been revised to reflect the current terms of the Barkr residual value warranty. Barker has since rebranded as Barkr.
NEW YORK, NY – USD.AI, the leading protocol for GPU-backed lending, today announced a partnership with Barkr, an institutional risk transfer platform, to provide residual value protection on GPU collateral where a deal includes it. The integration marks a significant evolution in USD.AI's risk management capabilities and will serve as a core component of the protocol's operating model going forward.
Under the partnership, GPU loans that include the warranty come with independent, AI-driven valuations from Barkr. Barkr warranties their accuracy backed by an A-rated reinsurer with hundreds of billions in insured value and over 140 years of operating history. This institutional-grade protection helps protect USD.AI holders in the event of collateral liquidations, representing a major upgrade to the protocol's risk architecture.
"Residual value protection from Barkr adds another layer of downside protection on the GPU loans where it applies, alongside conservative loan-to-value ratios, debt service reserves and real-time hardware monitoring," said Conor Moore, COO of USD.AI Inc., the developer of the USD.AI Protocol.
How the Warranty Works
Barkr's residual value warranty applies to GPU loans where a deal includes it, if a borrower defaults and the servers have to be sold.
When It Applies: The warranty is required where the offtaker is not investment-grade or the compute is sold as on-demand rental.
What It Covers: If the servers are sold below an agreed floor, Barkr covers part of the shortfall, subject to the warranty's conditions, including suspension during a market-wide shock.
Sale Type: The warranty applies to a sale of the servers. It does not apply to a sale of the SPV as a whole.
Institutional Reinsurance Backing: The warranty is backed by an A-rated institutional reinsurer, ensuring institutional-grade counterparty strength.
About Barkr's Proven Track Record
Barkr’s domain specific LLM values loan collateral and warranties the accuracy. Having established itself as a leading valuation platform, they facilitated approximately $2 billion in collateral valuations for a diversified client base spanning bulge-bracket banks and specialty asset-backed lenders. The platform maintains strict lender eligibility criteria and is deeply embedded into client credit workflows through rigorous vetting processes. The partnership represents a natural evolution for both platforms, with Barkr's proven expertise in valuation risk transfer complementing USD.AI's position as the dominant GPU lending protocol.
“At Barkr, our AI ensures accuracy for underwriting and our warranty delivers trust and protection. The Permian Labs team recognized this fast and we’re thrilled to be working with them” said Thomas Galbraith, CEO of Barkr.
Implementation and Timeline
The residual value warranty will be applied to new GPU loans where a deal includes it, with implementation beginning immediately.
The partnership underscores USD.AI's commitment to institutional-grade infrastructure and risk management, positioning the protocol for continued growth as enterprise demand for GPU financing continues to accelerate.
About USD.AI
USD.AI is the leading decentralized protocol for GPU-backed lending, enabling data center operators and AI companies to unlock liquidity from their compute infrastructure. The protocol has facilitated millions in GPU-backed loans while maintaining industry-leading risk management standards.
About Barkr
Barkr is an institutional valuation risk transfer platform that enables banks and asset-backed lenders to offload collateral value risk through independent valuations and contractual price warranties, backed by A-rated insurance counterparties.
