The UK is building their fastest ever AI supercomputer

30 April 2024 AI & ML

In an announcement made at the AI Safety Summit held in Bletchley Park, the UK government has said that it is spending $273 million on a supercomputer which will rank among the top supercomputers in the world once completed. Named Isambard-AI, it will consist of thousands of NVIDIA processors providing it with the capability to execute commands at more than 200 quadrillion calculations per second [that’s 21 exaflops of AI performance].

Isambard-AI is being built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and will be hosted by the University of Bristol. It will consist of 5448 of NVIDIA’s new GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is collaborating with the University of Bristol on energy-efficiency plans that support net-zero carbon targets mandated by the British government.

The investment in the so-called AI Research Resource in Bristol “will catalyse scientific discovery and keep the UK at the forefront of AI development,” said Michelle Donelan, the UK’s Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary.

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