India to become ‘front office’ of AI revolution: Nvidia CEO

Nvidia’s ongoing developer conference was a watershed moment for the AI industry. The company unveiled its powerful new Blackwell architecture, headlined by the GB200 chip, at the event in California.

This chip promises a massive boost for AI enterprises, with 20 petaflops of processing power compared to the company’s four-petaflop H100. Blackwell’s specialized “transformer engine” is optimized for the AI models underpinning platforms like ChatGPT.

Nvidia also focused on software by introducing NIM, which stands for the Nvidia Inference Microservice. NIM simplifies the use of older Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) for AI inference tasks, making it easier for companies to deploy their own AI models at scale.

Co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, whose company is now the US’ third-most valuable, also shared his thoughts on several trending topics in the tech world.

‍US-China tech war

During the conference, Huang downplayed fears of a US-China tech war disrupting the chip supply chain.

He expressed confidence in continued collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), whose chip production is crucial amid ongoing geopolitical tensions between the US and China.

Nvidia’s CEO also hinted at a potential partnership with Samsung. The Korean giant’s high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips are crucial for building powerful AI hardware like the new GB200.

Nvidia is currently testing Samsung’s HBM chips, which may lead to Samsung supplying this vital component for Nvidia’s future AI products.

‍India’s role in AI ecosystem

Huang sees India as a key player in the future of AI. He highlighted the country’s large pool of IT professionals, who are perfectly positioned to reskill and set to make India become the “front office” of the AI revolution.

This means Indian professionals wouldn’t just handle routine IT tasks, but instead be actively involved in developing and using cutting-edge AI solutions.

Notably, the Indian government recently announced plans to procure 10,000 GPUs and create an AI marketplace. When questioned about India’s plan to import GPUs, Huang jokingly expressed Nvidia’s openness to doing business.

Huang also encouraged Japan to develop its own “sovereign AI” capabilities.

‍AI in the driver’s seat

Nvidia also announced a new line of chips designed for cars. These chips have the power to run chatbots inside vehicles, offering new possibilities for in-car interaction and assistance.

Chinese electric vehicle makers BYD and Xpeng have already committed to using these new chips.

Source: Tech in Asia‍