IBM Teams with Together AI on $240 Million AI Cluster Deal
IBM and startup Together AI have signed a $240 million deal to build an artificial intelligence (AI) cluster on IBM Cloud using Nvidia systems.
The large-scale cluster will provide inference for open-source AI models, which are gaining traction as businesses seek to reduce AI costs and mitigate concerns about cybersecurity incidents involving models from companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta.
Inference is the process of running trained AI models to generate responses, driving high demand for computing capacity. Cloud providers and chipmakers are investing heavily in AI infrastructure, with Nvidia's HGX B300 systems being used in the cluster.
The initial cluster will feature around 2,000 Nvidia Blackwell 300 chips and be located in the US. Together AI's chief revenue officer Kai Mak said the cluster will likely be sold out two to three months ahead of time, with full capacity expected before it's ready for service.