Super Protocol builds industry’s first confidential Web3 AI & Data marketplace with Ubuntu confidential VMs

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As AI adoption grows, companies face significant challenges including intellectual property exposure, data leaks, and unauthorized access. These security concerns complicate collaboration and data sharing, limiting the scalability and value of AI solutions.

Super Protocol, a company that provides a confidential AI cloud and marketplace, was experiencing these exact challenges. By leveraging Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Intel TDX, AMD SEV-SNP, and NVIDIA GPUs, Super Protocol needed a reliable foundation to mitigate security risks while enabling secure multi-party collaboration.

Ubuntu has always been central to Super Protocol’s infrastructure strategy, so when the company needed to deploy confidential computing at scale, Ubuntu confidential VMs became the natural choice.

Ubuntu confidential VMs help solve the security challenge while delivering the same, familiar Ubuntu experience and capabilities that have supported Super Protocol’s distributed cloud architecture.

“We chose Ubuntu for its exceptional and continuously updated support for various Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technologies. When we first began working with the initial version of Intel SGX, we found Ubuntu to be the most convenient and effective distribution.”
— Nukri Basharuli, founder and CEO of Super Protocol

About Super Protocol

Provides the first and only confidential Web3 AI & Data Marketplace built on secure infrastructure
Enables confidential AI processing and monetization through TEEs and blockchain smart contracts
Offers off-the-shelf infrastructure for AI developers and data providers to monetize models and datasets while maintaining full control over privacy

Highlights

Super Protocol uses Ubuntu-based virtual machines to create a confidential distributed cloud with multiple VMs grouped into clusters interconnected by a virtual network
Ubuntu’s native TEE support eliminated the need for manual installation of drivers and other components
Seamless deployment experience allowed the team to focus on developing their confidential distributed cloud without being bogged down by low-level configuration tasks

Challenge

Super Protocol provides a confidential AI cloud and marketplace that enables AI developers and data providers to securely collaborate, transact on open market terms, and retain full ownership without requiring expertise in confidential computing.

However, building this secure infrastructure presented significant technical challenges around intellectual property exposure, data confidentiality, and maintaining reliability during confidential AI processing.

Nukri Basharuli, founder and CEO of Super Protocol, explains:

“When we first began working with confidential computing, we anticipated a complex and tedious setup process, dealing with kernel patches, manually configuring drivers, and troubleshooting compatibility issues.”

Super Protocol needed a Linux distribution that could reliably support various Trusted Execution Environment technologies while providing the stability and scalability required for their distributed cloud infrastructure.

Solution

Super Protocol chose Ubuntu confidential VMs as the foundation for their secure infrastructure deployment.

Ubuntu provided built-in support for Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technologies, eliminating the need for manual installation of drivers and other components. This was particularly important as Super Protocol had struggled with other confidential computing technologies that required complex setup processes involving manual configuration of kernel modules, attestation services, and secure enclaves.

Super Protocol uses Ubuntu-based virtual machines to create a confidential distributed cloud where multiple VMs are grouped into clusters interconnected by a virtual network. On these servers, clients can deploy their applications and databases, train machine learning models, and store data with confidence that their information is protected at all stages.

Ubuntu has proven to be highly reliable under high-load conditions, making it an ideal choice for scalable infrastructure. The well-maintained Long-Term Support (LTS) versions provide long-term stability, while the expansive package ecosystem and active community support allow Super Protocol to rapidly adapt to evolving workloads.

Super Protocol also chose Ubuntu for its open source ethos. As Nukri Basharuli explains: “At Super, we believe that software verifiability and data privacy are foundational to modern computing. Ubuntu’s strong alignment with the open-source ecosystem allows us to leverage a vast array of well-maintained, security-focused projects while also contributing back to the community.”

Results

With Ubuntu confidential VMs providing a secure foundation, Super Protocol has successfully enabled multiple customer success stories across different industries.

For example, TytoNyx, which helps medical device companies develop compliant Quality Management Systems, leveraged Super Protocol’s secure infrastructure utilizing NVIDIA H100/H200 GPUs with Trusted Execution Environments and Intel TDX to securely deliver auditing services. As a result, one device manufacturer dramatically reduced certification review times from 2-4 weeks to just 1-2 hours, minimizing delays in product launches and retaining full control over critical data.

In another case, a CPG manufacturer in marketing analytics was able to unlock up to 319% more training data through confidential AI, resulting in a 5% increase in sales. The model’s prediction accuracy reached 75%, empowering the company to optimize its media budget and drive more efficient outcomes.

Ubuntu streamlined the entire confidential computing deployment experience for Super Protocol.

“Unlike other distributions, which often require additional kernel modifications or custom-built drivers to enable Intel SGX, Intel TDX, or AMD SEV, Ubuntu worked out of the box. Its built-in support for Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technologies allowed us to focus on developing our confidential distributed cloud, without being bogged down by low-level configuration tasks.”
— Nukri Basharuli, founder and CEO of Super Protocol

Given their positive experience with Ubuntu, Super Protocol is also interested in integrating Ubuntu Core with confidential computing microtechnology on mobile devices, leveraging ARM v9 and its Confidential Compute Architecture (CCA).

Contact Canonical to discover how Ubuntu confidential VMs can help secure your AI and data processing workloads while maintaining the familiar Ubuntu experience your team already knows and trusts.

Start building confidential AI solutions with Canonical