University of Bristol to Build £225m Supercomputer for AI Research
The University of Bristol has announced plans to construct a new £225m supercomputer, named Isambard-AI, which will be the fastest in the UK. The high-performance machine will be built in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and is set to be operational by next summer. Isambard-AI will play a crucial role in advancing AI research and will be made available to businesses and researchers looking to develop next-generation technologies.
Funding for the project is being provided by the UK government as part of a £300m package to establish a new national Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (AIRR) for the country. The supercomputer will be equipped with HPE’s Cray EX supercomputers and over 5,000 Nvidia GH200 superchips, offering unparalleled processing power. With the capability to perform up to 200 quadrillion calculations per second, Isambard-AI is poised to become one of the fastest supercomputers in the world.
This cutting-edge facility will enable a wide range of organizations to train large language AI models, process big data, and harness the power of robotics. The University of Bristol hopes that Isambard-AI will contribute to vital areas such as accelerating automated drug discovery and climate research. Moreover, the supercomputer will connect with the University of Cambridge’s new supercomputer cluster, Dawn, to provide additional computational capacity as part of the national AIRR initiative.
Justin Hotard, Executive Vice President and General Manager of HPC, AI, and Labs at HPE, expressed excitement about the Isambard-AI system, highlighting its ability to provide performance and scale for compute-intensive AI projects. Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, Director of the Isambard National Research Facility at the University of Bristol, emphasized the significant leap forward that Isambard-AI represents for AI computational power in the UK.
The announcement comes shortly after the University of Edinburgh was chosen to house the UK’s first exascale supercomputer, Frontier, set to commence operations in 2025. To support the work of the Frontier AI Taskforce, the UK government will grant priority access to Isambard-AI. This allocation of resources will aid in the mitigation of risks associated with advanced AI, including national security threats posed by bioweapons and cyberattacks. The newly established AI Safety Institute will also benefit from the research capabilities offered by Isambard-AI.
Michelle Donelan, the UK’s Technology Secretary, affirmed the country’s commitment to becoming a world leader in adopting AI technology safely. Enhancing the tools available to researchers and scientific experts, such as supercomputers, will facilitate a deeper understanding of complex AI models. This investment in advanced computing infrastructure will secure the UK’s position at the forefront of AI safety research.
In conclusion, the University of Bristol’s £225m supercomputer project represents a significant stride forward for AI research in the UK. Isambard-AI’s immense computational power and its availability to businesses and researchers will propel innovation in various fields, ranging from robotics to climate research. By working in tandem with Cambridge’s Dawn supercomputer cluster, Isambard-AI will contribute to the establishment of a national AI research resource, further positioning the UK as a leader in AI development and safety measures.
