Intel to Provide Gaudi3 AI Chips to IBM Cloud

Intel announced on the 30th a global collaboration with IBM to provide the Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerator as a service on IBM Cloud.

Scheduled for launch early next year, this service aims to help scale enterprise AI more cost-effectively and promote safer and more resilient AI innovation. Through this collaboration, Gaudi 3 will be supported within IBM’s watsonx AI and data platform. IBM Cloud is the first CSP (Cloud Service Provider) to adopt Gaudi 3, making it available in both hybrid and on-premises environments.

Justin Hotard, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s Data Center and AI Group, stated, “To fully realize AI’s potential, it is essential to create an open and collaborative ecosystem that broadens customer choices and provides accessible solutions. By integrating the Gaudi 3 AI accelerator and Xeon CPUs into IBM Cloud, we are creating new AI capabilities and meeting the demand for cost-effective, secure, and innovative AI computing solutions.”

Intel Gaudi 3.
Photo by Intel

Generative AI holds transformative potential, but the resulting demand for computing power highlights the importance of availability, performance, cost efficiency, energy efficiency, and security in enterprise environments. Through this collaboration, Intel and IBM aim to reduce the total cost of ownership for AI while enhancing performance. Gaudi 3, integrated with 5th generation Xeon processors, supports enterprise AI workloads in data centers and clouds, providing full visibility and control over software environments and simplifying workload and application management.

For generative AI inference workloads, IBM plans to support Gaudi 3 within its watsonx AI and data platform, offering watsonx customers additional AI infrastructure resources to scale AI workloads in hybrid cloud environments and optimize price-performance for model inference.

Intel and IBM will collaborate to provide Gaudi 3 service capabilities for AI customers, leveraging IBM Cloud’s security and compliance features to support customers across various industries, including those with stringent regulatory requirements.

Meanwhile, Intel and IBM have maintained a long-standing partnership, from the development of IBM PCs to the creation of enterprise AI solutions utilizing Gaudi 3. IBM Cloud with Gaudi 3 is scheduled for official launch in early 2025.