Intel has announced a significant collaboration with IBM focused on Gaudi 3 AI accelerators, marking their first formal adoption by a mainstream cloud service provider. This collaboration is expected to bring Intel’s Gaudi 3 AI accelerators as a service on IBM Cloud by early 2025. The partnership aims to make it more cost-effective for enterprises to scale their AI operations while emphasizing security and innovation. This integration will also extend support for Gaudi 3 in IBM’s watsonx AI and data platform, and it will be accessible for both hybrid and on-premise environments.
The collaboration between Intel and IBM seeks to create an open and collaborative ecosystem that gives customers a range of options and accessible solutions. By combining Gaudi 3 AI Accelerators and Xeon CPUs with IBM Cloud, new AI capabilities can be developed to meet the growing demand for affordable, secure, and innovative AI solutions, according to Justin Hotard, Intel’s Executive VP and GM of Data Center and AI.
The move addresses the increasing computational power required by generative AI technologies, emphasizing the need for performance, cost-efficiency, energy efficiency, and security. Both companies aim to reduce the total cost of ownership while enhancing AI scaling and performance capabilities through this partnership.
Gaudi 3, integrated with the 5th Gen Xeon, is designed to support enterprise AI workloads in both cloud and data centers, offering better visibility and control over the software stack. This integration is intended to simplify workload and application management, allowing customers to scale their AI workloads more cost-effectively while maintaining a focus on performance, security, and resilience.
For generative AI inferencing workloads, IBM plans to support Gaudi 3 within its watsonx AI and data platform. This will provide watsonx clients with additional AI infrastructure resources, allowing them to scale their AI workloads more effectively across hybrid cloud environments and optimize price/performance for model inferencing.
IBM and Intel are also working to provide clients across various industries, including heavily regulated sectors, with IBM Cloud’s robust security and compliance features. Together, they aim to offer scalable and flexible solutions, enabling clients to adjust computing resources as needed, which should lead to cost savings and operational efficiencies.
The integration of Gaudi 3 into IBM Cloud Virtual Servers for VPC is expected to allow x86-based enterprises to run applications faster and more securely, thereby enhancing user experiences.
The long-standing collaboration between Intel and IBM continues, from the iconic IBM PC to this latest integration of Gaudi 3 AI accelerators in enterprise AI solutions. IBM Cloud’s Gaudi 3 services are slated to be available at the beginning of 2025, with more updates expected from both companies in the coming months.
A journalist’s note on the market performance of Intel’s Gaudi 3 AI accelerator mentions that despite competitive pricing, adoption rates have been lower than anticipated due to stiff competition from other companies like AMD and NVIDIA. The partnership with IBM is seen as a potential boost for Intel, although they still face substantial challenges ahead.
