Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers.
Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia.
Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
“NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for partners to build specialized AI infrastructures,” Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said in his keynote address at Computex in Taipei.
NVLink Fusion products give customers the option to use their own central processing units with Nvidia’s AI chips, or twin Nvidia silicon with another company’s AI accelerator.
The world’s major hyperscalers are already deploying Nvidia’s NVLink full-rack solutions and can speed time to availability by standardizing their heterogeneous silicon data centers on the Nvidia rack architecture with NVLink Fusion, Nvidia said in a statement.
“Our collaboration, which began in the automotive segment, now extends even further, enabling us to deliver scalable, efficient and flexible technologies that address the rapidly evolving needs of cloud-scale AI,” MediaTek vice chairman and CEO Rick Tsai (蔡力行) was quoted as saying in a statement by Nvidia.
Alchip CEO Johnny Shen (沈翔霖) said the company is supporting adoption of NVLink Fusion by broadening its availability through a design and manufacturing ecosystem, encompassing advanced processes and proven packaging and supported by the ASIC industry’s most flexible engagement.
Aside from Taiwanese chip companies, Qualcomm Inc, Fujitsu Ltd, Marvell Technology Inc, Astera Labs, Synopsys and Cadence are also among those first adopters of the technology to further open up access to its interconnect technology, Nvidia said.
Qualcomm yesterday said it is planning to launch custom CPUs for AI data centers that can connect with Nvidia’s GPUs.
Fujitsu Ltd also said its next-generation processor, FUJITSU-MONAKA, a 2-nanometer Arm-based CPU, can be combined with Nvidia’s full-stack AI infrastructure to deliver new levels of performance, the Nvidia statement said.
Nvidia also announced that it has picked Taipei to build its new Taiwan office, dubbed Nvidia Constellation, ending months of speculation.
“I’m very pleased to announce that Nvidia Constellation will be built in Beitou Shilin (北投士林),” Huang said. “We have negotiated the transfer of the lease from the current owners.”
As Nvidia’s partnerships with the Taiwanese ecosystem grow, the number of engineers at its Taiwan operations has been growing and it is building a brand new office to house its engineers, he said.
In addition, Huang announced a partnership between Nvidia, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and the National Science and Technology Council to build “the first giant AI supercomputer” for Taiwan.
It is crucial for Taiwan to have “world-class AI infrastructure” given the number of companies engaged in robotics and AI research here, Huang said, adding that the initiative would cater to Taiwan’s “AI infrastructure” and “AI ecosystem.”
The project will benefit researchers, students, start-ups and established companies alike, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA and Bloomberg
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