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NVIDIA Acquires GPU Orchestration Software Provider Run:ai for $700 Million

In a move to bolster its AI workload management capabilities, NVIDIA has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Run:ai, a prominent provider of Kubernetes-based workload management and orchestration software. With AI deployments becoming increasingly complex and distributed across multiple infrastructures, efficient resource utilization has become a priority for enterprises.

Run:ai offers an open platform built on Kubernetes, the popular orchestration layer for modern AI and cloud infrastructure. The platform supports various Kubernetes variants and integrates seamlessly with third-party AI tools and frameworks. By leveraging Run:ai’s technology, enterprise customers can efficiently manage and optimize their compute infrastructure, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments.

The acquisition allows NVIDIA to provide its customers with a centralized interface to manage shared compute infrastructure, simplifying access to complex AI workloads. It also offers functionalities such as user management, resource allocation control, and monitoring of resource utilization. Run:ai’s platform enables pooling of GPUs and sharing of computing power, allowing for efficient GPU cluster resource utilization.

As part of the acquisition, NVIDIA plans to continue offering Run:ai’s products under the same business model. The company also intends to invest in the development of Run:ai’s product roadmap, aligning it with NVIDIA’s DGX Cloud AI platform. NVIDIA DGX server and workstation customers, as well as DGX Cloud users, will gain access to Run:ai’s capabilities, particularly for generative AI deployments across multiple data center locations.

Run:ai has been a close collaborator with NVIDIA since 2020, and the acquisition further strengthens their partnership. Omri Geller, CEO of Run:ai, expressed excitement about joining NVIDIA and continuing their journey together.

The acquisition of Run:ai aligns with NVIDIA’s commitment to providing comprehensive solutions for AI infrastructure management. By combining their expertise, NVIDIA and Run:ai aim to empower customers with enhanced GPU utilization, improved management of GPU infrastructure, and greater flexibility in their AI deployments. The acquisition reflects NVIDIA’s dedication to advancing AI technology and supporting enterprises in their AI initiatives.

Image source: Shutterstock

Crypto Mining Hive Signed a $66 million GPU Subscription Agreement with Nvidia

Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd, a Vancouver-based cryptocurrency mining company headquartered in Canada, announced on July 1 Thursday that it has signed a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) procurement contract worth $66 million with a top-notch GPU inventor Nvidia. The announcement came officially to join the Nvidia Partner Network (NPN) cloud service provider plan.

“Joining the planning of NPN plan this time is to establish a foundation to move Enterprise Cloud services forward with services High-Performance Computing (HPC),” says Hive. Furthermore, the company said becoming a partnership with NVIDIA can facilitate Hive to use its mature ecosystem, deep industry expertise, and good cooperation and customer service system to better its computing infrastructure.

The announcement did not disclose the specific NVIDIA GPU model and related models.

Since Chinese authorities intensified crackdown actions against the Bitcoin (BTC) mining activities, GPUs have dropped in price, and the mining machines have depreciated by nearly 75% since April, as reported before.

The world’s top bitcoin mining machine manufacturer Bitmain Technology Co., Ltd. suspended the sale of mining machines worldwide in response to the Chinese government’s recent crackdown on domestic mining targetting domestic miners.

Although China continues to tighten domestic cryptocurrency mining nationally, NVIDIA will deliver data center-grade GPUs to Hive monthly for the remaining months.

Frank Holmes, the CEO of Hive Blockchain, stated that:

“Investment in Nvidia GPUs strengthens Hive’s ability to remain nimble and gives us the power to pivot in this ever changing and dynamic industry.”

Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd became the first cryptocurrency mining company to adopt green energy and ESG strategies for the general public since 2017. Hive is not only listed on the TSX.V exchange; Hive officially has started trading under the tick of “HVBT” on the Nasdaq Capital Market Exchange.

Image source: HIVE faceobook page

Nvidia Agrees to Pay $5.5 Million to SEC Fine for Failure to Crypto Mining Disclosures

Nvidia Corporation, a pioneer provider of graphics processors and related software, has agreed to pay a $5.5 million fine to settle the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations that the company failed to adequately disclose revenue from cryptocurrency mining. The Commission made the announcement on Friday.

According to the SEC, during two consecutive quarters in 2018, Nvidia did not make it clear that demand from crypto miners was responsible for a significant part of the rise in sales of its gaming graphics processing units (GPUs).

Nvidia’s powerful processors designed for handling video-game graphics are considered well-suitable for handling mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Nvidia, the leading chipmaker in the US, agreed to the penalty without admitting or denying the regulator’s findings.

The SEC stated that Nvidia omitted the information about rising demand from crypto miners while making statements about how cryptocurrencies were affecting other business lines.

In a statement, Kristina Littman, head of the SEC’s crypto enforcement team, said: “All issuers, including those that pursue opportunities involving emerging technology, must ensure that their disclosures are timely, complete, and accurate.”

The charges claim that Nvidia misled investors by reporting a boost in revenue associated with gaming activities but hide to reveal how much of such success was contributed by the volatile crypto market.

Based on Nvidia’s financial reports for the 2018 fiscal year, the SEC noted that Nvidia witnessed a massive increase in crypto mining-related sales in 2017, at a time when the rewards for mining Ethereum rose significantly.

Crypto mining was identified as the reason behind the scarcity of gaming GPUs in recent times. As a result, Nvidia launched a separate Cryptocurrency Mining Processor (CMP) line for mining in order to prevent shortages of the gaming GPUs.

However, many of Nvidia’s gaming GPUs were still being sold to miners as there was a significant rise in demand for such products from miners.

The commission stated that Nvidia didn’t mention mining-related sales as a factor in the success of its gaming division. The regulator said that Nvidia mentioned cryptocurrency as an important factor in other markets. This suggested to the SEC that Nvidia was being deceptive deliberately.

Considering crypto’s boom-and-bust nature, this implied that Nvidia’s sales figures didn’t indicate reliable growth for the future, making investing riskier.

“NVIDIA’s analysts and investors were interested in understanding the extent to which the company’s Gaming revenue was impacted by crypto mining and routinely asked senior management about the extent to which increases in gaming revenue during this time frame were driven by crypto mining,” the SEC stated.

Investor anxiety became real as a crypto crash in late 2018 compelled Nvidia to slash its quarterly revenues projections by a whopping $500 million and prompted a shareholder lawsuit.

NVIDIA Doubles Down Investing in Metaverse by Launching New Developer Tools

American technology giant NVIDIA is doubling down on its bet on the metaverse and is empowering creators with the launch of a new set of advanced tools.

With lots of updates to the Nvidia Omniverse platform, best used for real-time 3D design collaboration and world simulation, the company has announced its push to facilitate the redesign of Avatars through the help of Artificial Intelligence.

With the metaverse notably an innovation that is growing in momentum by the day, innovators are exploring avenues to introduce new models that can increase the hyperrealism that defines social interactions in virtual worlds. While the current metaverse tools do not give a picture-perfect representation of digital avatars, creators can pitch tents with Nvidia’s key tools, including Audio2Emotion, Full-Face Animation, and Character setup tools.

According to Nvidia, the Audio2Emotion tool is a new feature allowing avatar-emotion controls to be automatically keyed by AI that infers emotion from an audio clip.

The Full-Face Animation tool is designed to enable Omniverse users to direct the eye, teeth, and tongue motion, in addition to the avatar’s skin, for more complete facial animation, while the Character Transfer retargeting tool now supports full-face animation with easy-to-use tools to define meshes that make up the eyes, teeth, and tongue.

Many tech companies and investors are exploring new opportunities and utilities in the metaverse. While most blockchain startups are focused on the software aspect, technology giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms Oculus are committed to developing the hardware infrastructures.

While adopting the metaverse may currently be slow-paced, there is a great projection that the industry will dominate social interactions in less than a decade. Nvidia acknowledges that its developer tools are still evolving, and the expectation is that this evolution will help steer the industry’s growth as a whole.

Biden-Harris Administration Secures AI Commitments from Major Tech Companies

In today’s press release from the White House, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it has secured voluntary commitments from eight more artificial intelligence (AI) companies to manage the risks associated with AI. This move builds upon the commitments from seven AI companies obtained in July.

Companies Involved

The latest round of commitments includes major tech players such as Adobe, Cohere, IBM, Nvidia, Palantir, Salesforce, Scale AI, and Stability. These companies have pledged to drive the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI technology.

Nature of Commitments: The commitments emphasize three core principles for AI’s future: safety, security, and trust. The companies have agreed to:

Ensure AI products undergo both internal and external security testing before public release.
Share information on managing AI risks with the industry, governments, civil society, and academia.
Prioritize cybersecurity and protect proprietary AI system components.
Develop mechanisms to inform users when content is AI-generated, such as watermarking.
Publicly report on their AI systems’ capabilities, limitations, and areas of use.
Prioritize research on societal risks posed by AI, including bias, discrimination, and privacy concerns.
Develop AI systems to address societal challenges, ranging from cancer prevention to climate change mitigation.

Government Action

These voluntary commitments are seen as a bridge to forthcoming government action. The Biden-Harris Administration is in the process of developing an Executive Order on AI to ensure the rights and safety of Americans. The Administration is also pursuing bipartisan legislation to position America as a leader in responsible AI development.

International Collaboration: The Administration has consulted with numerous countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, and the UK, among others, in developing these commitments. This international collaboration complements initiatives like Japan’s G-7 Hiroshima Process and the United Kingdom’s Summit on AI Safety.

Previous Initiatives

The Biden-Harris Administration has been proactive in addressing AI’s challenges and opportunities. Notable actions include:

Launching the “AI Cyber Challenge” in August to use AI in protecting crucial US software.
Meetings with consumer protection, labor, and civil rights leaders to discuss AI risks.
Engagements with top AI experts and CEOs from companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
Publishing a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and ramping up efforts to protect Americans from AI risks, including algorithmic bias.
Investing $140 million to establish seven new National AI Research Institutes.

The Administration’s consistent efforts underscore its commitment to ensuring that AI is developed safely and responsibly, safeguarding Americans’ rights and safety, and protecting them from potential harm and discrimination.

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Reuters: U.S. Aims to Thwart Chinese Access to AI Chips via Overseas Outlets

The Biden administration is contemplating measures to plug a loophole that has been enabling Chinese firms to acquire U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) chips through overseas channels, as reported by Reuters on October 13, 2023. This move underscores Washington’s ongoing effort to curb China’s burgeoning AI capabilities which are significantly anchored on U.S. chip technology.

Last year, the U.S. administration introduced restrictions on the shipment of AI chips and chip-making tools to China, aiming to impede its military advancements. The present consideration to broaden the scope of restrictions reveals the administration’s struggle to sever China’s access to top-notch AI technology amidst the intricacies in sealing every avenue in export controls.

In the initial phase of restrictions, the loophole left open permitted overseas subsidiaries of Chinese companies to have unrestricted access to these semiconductors, thereby, potentially enabling their smuggling into China or remote access by China-based individuals. Notably, chips forbidden by U.S. regulations were reportedly available from vendors in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei electronics area as of June.

The loophole’s existence points to the challenge faced by the U.S. in policing transactions involving these chips. While shipping the AI chips to mainland China is against U.S. law, enforcement becomes a hurdle as China-based personnel could lawfully access these chips housed at foreign subsidiaries.

Greg Allen from the Center for Strategic and International Studies highlighted that Chinese firms are procuring chips for overseas data centers, with Singapore emerging as a significant hub for cloud computing.

On the flip side, the Chinese government has previously voiced its discontent over U.S. export controls, accusing Washington of unwarranted suppression of Chinese enterprises.

China’s AI ascendancy is heavily reliant on its access to U.S. chips. A 2022 report by Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology revealed that a substantial portion of AI chips procured through Chinese military tenders were designed by U.S.-based giants like Nvidia, Xilinx, Intel, and Microsemi.

Furthermore, in August, the U.S. urged major chip manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD to limit the shipment of AI chips not only to China but to other regions including certain Middle Eastern countries. The upcoming rules, anticipated to be rolled out this month, are expected to extend these restrictions more broadly across all players in the market.

The Biden administration continues to wrestle with the task of closing loopholes, including the challenge of curtailing Chinese access to U.S. cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), which extends similar AI capabilities.

In line with the ongoing U.S. efforts to curb Chinese access to advanced AI chips, as reported by Blockchain.News, senior Republican Representatives Michael McCaul and Mike Gallagher have urged for tighter export control enforcement. On October 6, 2023, they expressed concerns to the National Security Advisor over the Bureau of Industry and Security’s laxity in enforcing existing rules set in 2022 aimed at limiting China’s procurement of advanced semiconductors for military use. This call for stricter enforcement underscores the escalating U.S.-China tech tensions, particularly amidst advancements by China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Huawei Technologies in semiconductor technology despite current U.S. sanctions.

US Toughens Export Controls on Semiconductors to China Amid Military Concerns

The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) unveiled tightened export controls on advanced computing semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and supercomputing items to nations deemed as “countries of concern”, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 17, 2023. This move aims to thwart the military modernization efforts pursued by the PRC, in a bid to shield national security interests. The latest raft of rules builds upon the initial restrictions enacted on October 7, 2022.

The BIS’s updated rules, effective November 16, 2023, augment the previously established controls by modifying the parameters that define a restricted advanced computing chip. Under the new guidelines, a chip will face export restrictions if it exceeds either of two delineated parameters: the performance threshold specified in the previous rule or a new “performance density threshold” introduced to preempt potential circumventions.

Additionally, the US government will assess certain chip exports falling just below the restricted threshold, following a mandatory notification by the exporters. This new framework also carves out an exemption, permitting the export of chips aimed at consumer applications.

A global licensing requirement for exporting controlled chips to any firm headquartered in a US arms embargoed country or Macau has been established to curb circumvention of the controls through foreign subsidiaries and branches. The updates also introduce new red flags and due diligence mandates for foundries to identify restricted chip designs emanating from countries of concern.

The licensing requisites extend to 22 nations under a US arms embargo and Macau, with a presumption of denial for advanced chips and a presumption of approval for other chips, bolstering the visibility for compliance monitoring and enforcement.

Parallelly, the BIS has expanded controls on different types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and refined US persons restrictions to ensure US entities do not aid advanced PRC semiconductor manufacturing endeavors. The licensing requirements now encompass 21 other countries apart from the PRC and Macau.

On the same day, two PRC entities and their 13 subsidiaries, identified as being involved in the development of advanced computing chips detrimental to US national security and foreign policy interests, were added to the Entity List. Foundries manufacturing chips for these listed entities now require a BIS license.

Notably, the amplified restrictions will impact global semiconductor behemoths like Nvidia and AMD, whose certain chip models previously exempt, will now fall under the embargo. This is particularly significant given China’s position as a major market for these firms.

The rules are open for public commentary for 60 days post-publication, inviting insights on several facets including risks associated with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) providers, and additional compliance guidance for foundries.

Bitdeer and NVIDIA Partner to Launch AI Cloud Service in Asia

Bitdeer Technologies Group (NASDAQ: BTDR), a leader in blockchain and high-performance computing, has teamed up with NVIDIA to introduce a new cloud service in Asia, according to Globenewswire. Named Bitdeer AI Cloud, this service is poised to be powered by NVIDIA’s advanced DGX SuperPOD with DGX H100 systems, representing a major development in the region’s technological landscape.

The partnership comes at a time when the demand for powerful and efficient cloud computing solutions is at an all-time high, driven by rapid advancements in AI, machine learning, and large language models (LLMs). Industry analyst IDC reported a remarkable 32% annual growth in the public cloud platform-as-a-service (PaaS) market in 2022, a clear indicator of the sector’s burgeoning success. This growth is further amplified by the expanding realms of online gaming, livestreaming, and social media in Asia, which have significantly escalated the need for enhanced computing power.

Bitdeer’s strategic decision to collaborate with NVIDIA is seen as a move to consolidate its position in the Asian market. This partnership elevates Bitdeer to a Preferred member of the NVIDIA Partner Network, a status that highlights its technological capabilities and market influence. Matt Linghui Kong, CEO of Bitdeer, has expressed his excitement about this collaboration, seeing it as a stepping stone for advancing AI and LLM technologies in Asia.

Tony Paikeday, the Senior Director of the DGX platform at NVIDIA, emphasized the importance of generative AI in modern business environments. He pointed out that Bitdeer, utilizing NVIDIA’s DGX infrastructure, is well-equipped to provide the AI supercomputing and software necessary for developing and deploying advanced generative AI models and services.

Bitdeer’s approach to expanding its GPU cloud business is multifaceted. The company plans to provide a high-performance GPU cloud infrastructure that will serve as the cornerstone for various AI-driven projects. This move is expected to allow organizations to efficiently utilize GPUs for complex AI workloads. Additionally, Bitdeer is developing a GPU-as-a-Service platform, aiming to simplify AI application management and deployment. This is in line with global market projections that foresee significant growth in the PaaS market.

Furthermore, Bitdeer intends to offer AI software services to a diverse range of industries, thus democratizing access to AI technology and reducing the complexities associated with in-house development. The company is also preparing to launch API services to enable businesses to integrate AI more easily into their existing operations, in response to the anticipated growth of the Asia Pacific API market.

Bitdeer’s global operations, including datacenters in the United States, Norway, and Bhutan, underscore its expertise in managing complex computing processes. The company’s announcement of its NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD-based high-performance cloud service platform, expected to launch in Q1 2024, signals a significant step towards providing scalable and dynamic AI solutions across various industries.

Microsoft Reveals Azure Maia AI Accelerator and Azure Cobalt CPU

The Azure Maia 100 AI Accelerator and the Azure Cobalt CPU were both introduced at the Ignite 2023 conference, which was hosted by Microsoft. These two in-house silicon chips represent a significant advancement in artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies. The Azure Maia AI Accelerator, which is specialized for AI and generative AI workloads, and the Azure Cobalt CPU, which is an ARM-based processor designed for general computing, represent a major step in Microsoft’s technological strategy. Both of these products are part of the Azure platform. These chips, which were created in the Redmond lab of Microsoft, are essential to the company’s goal of a completely integrated infrastructure, which combines software, servers, racks, and cooling systems.

These chips are slated for release in early 2024 and will be used to power various services provided by Microsoft such as Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service. Their incorporation into Microsoft’s data centers is a reaction to the increased need for computing capacity that is efficient, scalable, and environmentally friendly, particularly in cloud and artificial intelligence technologies.

Microsoft is adopting a comprehensive approach to infrastructure, with the goal of maximizing the performance of each individual component, from silicon to hardware to software. This approach is in keeping with the company’s aim of being more sustainable, one noteworthy example of which is the energy-efficient design of the Cobalt central processing unit (CPU).

Microsoft also announced an extension of its collaborations with NVIDIA and AMD, which would enhance the capabilities of both companies in the area of infrastructure and provide customers with a variety of alternatives in terms of both performance and cost.

Microsoft is working on developing second-generation versions of both the Azure Maia AI Accelerator and the Azure Cobalt CPU family in order to maintain its tradition of technological leadership in this industry. Their drive to expanding their skills in artificial intelligence and cloud computing is shown by their focus to optimizing each technological layer.

The recent advancements that Microsoft has made in the field of artificial intelligence chip technology were discussed in a related blog post. The Azure Maia AI Accelerator and the Azure Cobalt CPU, both of which are essential to the AI and cloud computing strategy developed by Microsoft, are expected to be operational somewhere in the early year 2024. This represents a larger trend in the artificial intelligence technology business, where major firms are increasingly focused on the manufacture of semiconductor chips for increased AI capabilities. This is shown by the fact that this is occurring.

Yann LeCun Discusses AI Progress and Quantum Computing at FAIR's 10th Anniversary

Recently, Meta celebrated the tenth anniversary of its Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) team. This occasion was highlighted by Yann LeCun’s views about the present state of artificial intelligence as well as its potential in the future. The remarks made by LeCun, a prominent person in the field of artificial intelligence, were particularly centered on the ever-changing environment of AI technology and the path that leads to human-level AI.

The preeminence of Nvidia in the artificial intelligence hardware market was a significant aspect of LeCun’s criticism. As a result of its cutting-edge graphics processing units (GPUs), which are crucial for the training of huge language models like ChatGPT, Nvidia has emerged as the most valuable chip maker in the world. In a figurative sense, LeCun referred to the present situation as a “AI war,” while Nvidia was described as “supplying the weapons.” It is important to note that this statement reflects Nvidia’s significant position in the artificial intelligence business as well as the significance that its hardware plays in advancing AI research and development.

LeCun voiced his doubts about the imminent arrival of artificial intelligence on par with that of humans. He underlined the need of reaching “dog” and “cat” level artificial intelligence as intermediate steps on the path to human-level intelligence, which is in contrast to the positive views of certain industry executives. Based on this cautious approach, it seems that important milestones in the advancement of artificial intelligence have not yet been reached.

In addition, LeCun expressed his concerns on the technological capabilities of quantum computing at the present time. In spite of the significant efforts that rival companies like as Google and Microsoft have made in this technology, he is of the opinion that conventional computing is still more effective than quantum solutions for a great deal of difficulties. Taking this viewpoint into consideration, Meta has made the choice to direct its resources in a different direction, so distinguishing itself from other digital titans.

In addition, LeCun described Meta’s methodology for the creation of artificial intelligence, namely its investigation of multimodal AI systems. The development of these systems, which are able to analyze a wide variety of data kinds, such as audio, picture, and video, has resulted in advancements such as the augmented reality glasses developed by Project Aria. LeCun predicts a transition toward processors that are especially intended for deep learning brain acceleration, despite the fact that he relies significantly on GPUs manufactured by Nvidia for training artificial intelligence software. This demonstrates that Meta is taking a proactive approach to responding to and altering the environment of artificial intelligence hardware.