# Compute that takes any shape

DevFeed: [Compute that takes any shape](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/compute-that-takes-any-shape-734.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://vercel.com/blog/fluid-compute-takes-any-shape>)

Author: Luke Phillips-Sheard

Published: 2026-09-01T07:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Vercel News](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/vercel-news.md>)

Topics: [Cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud.md>), [Provisioning](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/provisioning.md>), [cloud-infrastructure](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud-infrastructure.md>), [Vercel](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/vercel.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cpu.md>), [IO](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/io.md>), [DRIVE](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/drive.md>)

Tags: [agent](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/agent.md>), [cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cloud.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [compute](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/compute.md>), [cpu](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cpu.md>), [image](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/image.md>), [infrastructure](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/infrastructure.md>), [io](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/io.md>), [memory](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/memory.md>), [pricing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/pricing.md>), [real-time](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/real-time.md>), [sandbox](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sandbox.md>), [storage](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/storage.md>), [vercel](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/vercel.md>)

## AI overview

Vercel presents Fluid as a unified compute system that assembles machines for different workloads, changes configuration dynamically, and absorbs burst capacity in real time. It supports builds, sandboxes, and functions, using isolated virtual machines, custom images, and separate storage connections.

## Source excerpt

Workloads differ in how long they run, how much memory they take, and how much of the environment they control. That previously meant a different compute primitive for each job, so product iterations required provisioning infrastructure, not just working on a feature. We built Vercel so that none of this has to be your problem. The compute layer is a single system with a simple job. Take any workload, assemble the machine it needs, swap configuration on the fly, and absorb burst capacity in real time. We call this Fluid. Builds ran on it first, then sandboxes, and now functions. If you've shipped on Vercel, you've been on Fluid without knowing it. Fluid compute now runs over 15 million builds a day, 25 million sandboxes a week, and a trillion requests a month. A history of compute Changing a machine used to mean changing it by hand. You went down to the computer store, bought a hard drive or a stick of RAM, and swapped it in yourself. Then you could rent bare metal when you needed it, and use it to serve a website, host a database, or send email. Then the cloud let you request a machine in any configuration you wanted, choose its operating system, use it, and throw it away when you were done. For agents, even the cloud is too slow. A standard VM can't provision fast enough to keep up with how they work, but this is where Fluid excels. How a workload runs on Fluid When a workload comes in, Fluid assembles a machine to fit its shape. If an agent needs to run code, Hive provides an isolated VM, usually one already warm, so it's ready instantly. Your own image boots on top as the environment. A Drive connects, and your files are right where you left them, because storage was never tied to the machine. Each workload needs something different. A build is compute-bound, so it wants a beefy machine, heavy on CPU and memory. A function is IO-bound, loading specific code to run the instant a request lands, usually on a small VM. A sandbox is flexibility-bound, taking whatever