Local news & views around the Florida-Georgia border.
NVIDIA & University of Florida Form Super-Duper AI Partnership
A public-private partnership between NVIDIA and UF will build “the world’s fastest artificial intelligence super computer in higher education” on the Gainesville campus.
World’s Fastest AI Super Computer in Academia To Be in Gainesville, FL
Florida’s top university, acclaimed for academics, research and its sport teams, announced some exciting news this past week. A very big development for the Gator Nation, is a new public-private partnership between NVIDIA and the University of Florida.
This collaboration will build what’s being described as “the world’s fastest artificial intelligence super computer in higher education” on the Gainesville campus. (Watch the video explaining the partnership further below.)
Artificial Intelligence Partnership
A $70 million investment, the funds include a generous $25 million donation by UF alumnus, Chris Malachowsky. A world leader in AI and accelerated computing, NVIDIA (NVDA: NASDAQ) is providing $25 million in hardware, software, training and services from the Silicon Valley-based technology company that Malachowsky co-founded. The remainder $20 million investment is from the University of Florida.
“Once A Gator, Always A Gator”
After graduating high school in New Jersey, Chris Malachowsky headed for the Sunshine State and earned a B.S. in electrical engineering at University of Florida in 1983. You know what they say, “once a Gator, always a Gator.”
“The partnership with the UF, the state of Florida, and NVIDIA, anchored by Chris Malachowsky’s generous donation, goes beyond just money,” said NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who founded NVIDIA in 1993 along with Chris and Curtis Priem. “We are excited to contribute NVIDIA’s expertise to work together to make UF a national leader in AI and help address not only the region’s, but the nation’s challenges.”
SOURCE: NVIDIA news release 7/21/2020
Much More Than Singular Machine
“The initiative includes a commitment from UF to hire 100 more faculty members focused on AI,” says the university.
Additional Initiatives
Also, according to NVIDIA, the company will contribute their artificial intelligence expertise to the University of Florida via support and collaboration with these additional initiatives:
The NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute will collaborate with UF on developing new curriculum and coursework for both students and the community, including programing tuned to address the needs of young adults and teens to encourage their interest in STEM and AI, better preparing them for future educational and employment opportunities.
UF will become the site of the latest NVIDIA AI Technology Center, where UF Graduate Fellows and NVIDIA employees will work together to advance AI.
NVIDIA solution architects and product engineers will partner with UF on the installation, operation and optimization of the NVIDIA-based supercomputing resources on campus, including the latest artificial intelligence software applications.
Congratulations to the University of Florida! Go Gators!
