The University of Florida and NVIDIA have announced a plan to build the “world’s fastest AI supercomputer in academia” – capable of delivering 700 petaflops of compute performance.

The project is made possible by $25 million donation from alumnus and NVIDIA co-founder Chris Malachowsky, in addition to a $25 million gift in hardware, software, training and services from NVIDIA. The University of Florida (UF) will invest an additional $20 million – putting the total cost of the endeavour at $70 million. The system is expected to be delivered in early 2021.

“We’ve created a replicable, powerful model of public-private cooperation for everyone’s benefit,” said Malachowsky in an online event featuring leaders from both the UF and NVIDIA.

The AI computer will be designed to be able to help out with major challenges such as “rising seas, ageing populations, data security, personalised medicine, urban transportation and food insecurity.” University of Florida said that it expects to create “30,000 AI-enabled graduates by 2030”.

KitGuru says: The AI sector is growing immensely. What are your thoughts on UF and NVIDIA teaming up to build the fastest AI Supercomputer in Academia?

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