IBM Cloud to Introduce Intel Gaudi 3 AI Chips in 2025 🌥️

Intel’s Partnership with IBM Cloud

Intel has officially announced its first cloud partnership for the innovative Gaudi 3 AI accelerator chip with none other than IBM Cloud. This collaboration signifies a significant stride in the realm of AI technology and cloud computing. Starting in early 2025, IBM Cloud will make the Gaudi 3 AI accelerators available to its customers, enhancing their cloud infrastructure. This means that businesses can look forward to leveraging advanced AI capabilities directly within their hybrid and on-premise environments.

Integrating Gaudi 3 with IBM’s Watsonx AI Platform

IBM has plans to integrate these cutting-edge accelerators with its Watsonx AI and data platform. The integration aims to offer users a more extensive range of AI solutions, enhancing performance and operational efficiency. As Justin Hotard, the general manager of Intel’s data center and AI division, stated, “Unlocking the full potential of AI requires an open and collaborative ecosystem that provides customers with choice and accessible solutions.” This collaboration promises to bring forth a wealth of new AI capabilities that align with the current demand for affordable and secure computing solutions.

Overview of Gaudi 3 Chip

The Gaudi 3 chip, which was unveiled in December 2023, represents Intel’s response to the competitive AI chip market dominated by rivals like Nvidia and AMD. It marks the final iteration in the Gaudi series of AI accelerators that Intel acquired through its $2 billion purchase of Habana Labs in 2019. Gaudi 3 is being positioned as a formidable alternative to existing AI chips, aiming to expand Intel’s footprint in the rapidly growing AI market.

Innovative Hardware Design and Performance

This groundbreaking chip features new reference designs that partners such as Lenovo, Dell, HPE, and Super Micro can adopt for their servers. Here’s what you can expect from Gaudi 3:

• Enhanced performance-to-cost ratio, offering impressive value for AI computing.
• Novel Ethernet connectivity aimed at competing against Nvidia’s InfiniBand technology.
• Compatibility with Intel’s Xeon 6 processor series, ensuring robust performance.

Intel’s Market Position and Challenges

Despite these advancements, Gaudi 3’s debut comes at a challenging time for Intel. The company is empathizing with the competitive landscape led by Nvidia, which has firmly established itself as a leader in the AI chip market. Earlier this year, Intel estimated it would generate only $500 million in revenue from Gaudi 3 in 2024. In contrast, AMD is expecting a whopping $3.5 billion in sales from its Instinct MI300-series GPUs, while Nvidia anticipates an astonishing $40 billion from its data center business.

Though early benchmarks showcase Gaudi 3’s strong performance and value, persuading organizations that already have fruitful relationships with Nvidia to switch poses a significant hurdle for Intel. The competitive pressure remains palpable, with the market increasingly leaning toward companies with established reputations in AI processor technology.

Intel’s Vision for the Future

During July’s discussions, Intel CTO Greg Lavender conveyed optimism about the company’s potential to secure a position as the second-largest player in the AI chip market, trailing behind Nvidia. However, following a challenging quarter that resulted in a $1.6 billion loss, Intel announced that it would eliminate 15,000 jobs as part of a strategic effort to save $10 billion by 2025. This bold move aims to realign Intel’s focus on innovation and competitiveness in the AI landscape.

Nvidia Competes with the Blackwell Chip

The competition is expected to heat up even further, as Nvidia plans to ramp up production of its next-gen AI chip, Blackwell, in the fourth quarter. This chip is poised to deliver up to four times the performance of Nvidia’s H100, a product against which Gaudi 3 is being compared.

Interesting to note, Intel has refrained from making direct comparisons between Gaudi 3 and Blackwell, as they believe that an informed assessment must wait until the Blackwell chips are publicly available.

Conclusion

As the launch of Intel’s Gaudi 3 approaches, the spotlight will be on how this collaboration with IBM Cloud unfolds. Businesses looking to harness the power of AI will be closely watching to see how these new capabilities can enhance operations, improve efficiency, and ultimately transform cloud computing. 🌟