Cloud object storage platform Storj acquired its distributed processor provider cousin Valdi for an undisclosed amount in July this year. After an earlier successful integration, Storj elected to gobble up Valdi, adding a compute branch to its existing object storage business, while we learned at the recent IBC show of another pragmatic reason for the acquisition. As a primer, Atlanta-based Storj operates an enterprise-grade storage and distribution system, compatible with Amazon’s S3 object storage—without building any dedicated hardware. Storj harnesses unused capacity in existing servers, fragmenting encrypted files into thousands of nodes distributed in 105 countries all over the globe. Valdi presents a similar business model. Customers can request to use specific chips in specific locations all over the world.…