Nvidia and National Science Foundation Launch AI Research Resource pilot program, to promote responsible AI innovation and discovery.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States and Nvidia, a prominent manufacturer of artificial intelligence (AI) chips, have announced a new partnership to fund a novel AI research initiative.
The primary objective of the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot program is to increase the availability of the necessary resources for “responsible AI discovery and innovation.” $30 million in technological contributions have been pledged by Nvidia over the course of the following two years.
The developer intends to gather perspectives from researchers utilizing its platforms in order to improve the efficacy of the technology, in addition to providing NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and NVIDIA DGX Cloud AI supercomputing resources.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology are two of the ten additional U.S. government partners of NAIRR.
The collaborations on the NAIRR pilot, according to NSF director Sethuraman Panchanathan, demonstrate the “urgency” of developing such resources for the “future of AI in America.”
“By investing in AI research through the NAIRR pilot, the United States unleashes discovery and impact and bolsters its global competitiveness.”as stated by Katie Antypas, director of the NSF’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure.
NSF was directed by the Biden administration’s executive order on artificial intelligence, issued in October 2023, to initiate an NAIRR pilot program within three months. The NAIRR pilot program’s launch is consistent with those objectives.
NSF informed reporters that funding for research that advances trustworthy, secure, and safe AI is a top priority. This encompasses “methods for AI testing, evaluation, and verification; improving accuracy and reliability of model performance; and advancing the ability to assure intended model behavior.”
“The NAIRR pilot will open opportunities to pursue AI research outside of well-resourced universities and private sector laboratories and will pilot support for computing and data resources for university classrooms.”
This follows the January 24 announcement by Nvidia of a new partnership with data center operator Equinix to provide supercomputing systems to the company’s corporate clients.
According to Nvidia’s founder and chief executive officer, Jensen Huang, generative AI is “transforming every industry.”
“Now, enterprises can own NVIDIA AI supercomputing and software, paired with the operational efficiency of Equinix management, in hundreds of data centers worldwide.”
Equinix, headquartered in California, is a global leader in the proportion of colocation data centers, with 248 facilities situated in 31 nations across five continents.
