IBM & Together AI: $240M AI Cluster Deal on IBM Cloud
By Business Desk
IBM and Together AI partner for a $240 million multi-year deal to build a cutting-edge AI cluster on IBM Cloud, featuring Nvidia’s latest Blackwell systems for AI inference.
IBM and startup Together AI have signed a multi-year agreement valued at $240 million. This deal aims to develop a significant artificial intelligence (AI) cluster hosted on IBM Cloud.
Infrastructure Details
The new AI infrastructure will leverage Nvidia’s advanced HGX B300 systems. These systems incorporate the company’s latest Blackwell processors and Spectrum-X Ethernet networking equipment, optimized for AI inference.
- Nvidia states these Blackwell chips are specifically designed for AI inference tasks.
- The cluster’s core function is to facilitate inference for various open-source AI models.
Driving Factors
Businesses are increasingly adopting open-source AI solutions. This shift is driven by a desire to control operational costs and mitigate cybersecurity concerns associated with proprietary models from other major AI developers.
The surging demand for computing capacity to perform AI inference is a critical factor. This involves running trained AI models to generate responses, prompting significant investment from cloud providers and chipmakers in expanding AI infrastructure.
Key Figures
- Agreement Value: $240 million
- Partners: IBM, Together AI
- Hardware Provider: Nvidia
- Chip Optimization: AI inference