UK Government Invests $273 Million in Isambard-AI Supercomputer

The UK government has unveiled a significant $273 million investment plan to construct its most advanced supercomputer to date, Isambard-AI.

Most Advanced Supercomputer of UK

Upon activation, Isambard-AI will rank among the world's top AI supercomputers, boasting a remarkable processing capacity. Equipped with thousands of NVIDIA superchips, Engadget reported that it is anticipated to execute more than 200 quadrillion computations per second.

The supercomputer is scheduled to commence its operations in the summer of 2024 and will find its home at the University of Bristol. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is responsible for the construction of this supercomputer, which will feature 5,448 NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips, as detailed in NVIDIA's official announcement.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is set to construct and deliver Isambard-AI using the next-gen HPE Cray EX supercomputers, along with over 5,000 cutting-edge NVIDIA GH200 superchips. With this advanced technology and design, Isambard-AI is anticipated to reach a staggering 200 quadrillion calculations per second.

Utilizing Across the UK

The novel facility in Bristol will be utilized by various organizations across the UK to harness the potential of AI, a driving force behind emerging technologies like training large language models, big data, and robotics. Moreover, the supercomputing facility will play a pivotal role in essential areas such as expediting automated drug discovery and climate research.

Isambard-AI is set to be interconnected with a newly established supercomputer cluster at the University of Cambridge, named Dawn, designed to provide additional capacity as part of the new national AIRR initiative.

Isambard-AI is poised to achieve an astonishing 21 exaflops of AI performance, equivalent to over 21 quintillion floating point operations per second, particularly in AI applications such as large language model training. This is projected to surpass the UK's current fastest supercomputer's performance by tenfold.

Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, who serves as the Director of the Isambard National Research Facility at the University of Bristol, has described Isambard-AI as a remarkable advancement in the computational power of AI within the United Kingdom.

At present, Isambard-AI would be counted among the world's top 10 fastest supercomputers, and when it becomes operational in 2024, it will stand as one of the most powerful AI systems for open science on a global scale.

Participating in the forefront of the AI revolution is an exhilarating endeavor, as we join forces with industry giants HPE and NVIDIA to swiftly construct and implement a vast research computing infrastructure, which will culminate in the creation of one of the world's most potent supercomputers.

Isambard-AI will deliver an unprecedented capacity within the UK, empowering researchers and industries to unlock the vast potential of AI across various domains, including robotics, big data analysis, climate research, and drug discovery.

Justin Hotard, the Executive Vice President and General Manager overseeing HPC, AI & Labs at HPE, emphasized the significance of this announcement. As per the press release, this highlights the UK's resolute commitment to assume a prominent global position in the realm of AI.

The Isambard-AI system will leverage world-class supercomputing capabilities, including cutting-edge high-performance networking technologies co-developed at HPE's Bristol laboratories, thus delivering the performance and scalability essential for AI projects demanding substantial computational resources.