This Company Joins Forces with Nvidia to Provide AI ‘Supercomputers’ to Customers
Server center operator Equinix and Nvidia announced Wednesday a partnership to offer the chip company’s supercomputer systems to business customers.
The service makes it easier for companies to own AI computing systems and better manage their data, rather than renting Nvidia’s market-leading chips from cloud service providers like Amazon.com or Microsoft.
Many large companies have shown interest in owning their AI systems for privacy and security reasons, but Nvidia systems differ from traditional data center servers, which often use different network cables and require liquid cooling.
Under the agreement, Nvidia has trained Equinix staff to build and operate its systems. Business customers buy Nvidia systems, but pay Equinix to build and operate them effectively, while still retaining ownership.
“We want to push privacy because we hear from large customers that they are very concerned about controlling their own destiny,” Jon Lin, Equinix’s vice president of data center services, told Reuters in an interview.
However, “then it’s a question of figuring out how to operate (AI data centers) effectively and efficiently — that’s a whole new set of capabilities that aren’t generally available.”
Nvidia and Equinix said the new offering will be available starting Wednesday, but did not disclose immediate customers.
