The inaugural AI Accelerator program has been launched by Northern Data, one of Nvidia’s largest partner
This initiative is designed to expedite the advancement of AI innovation by offering complimentary access to state-of-the-art NVIDIA HGX H100 GPU servers to a limited number of entrepreneurs.
The endeavor will be powered by 100% carbon-free energy, supported by expert engineers from Northern Data Group, a High-Performance Computing (HPC) solutions provider.
Furthermore, industry leaders, such as NVIDIA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Supermicro, will provide mentoring and seminars to selected startups.
The AI Accelerator program is intended to enable startups to promptly establish or scale a proof of concept for their AI concepts by utilizing state-of-the-art solutions such as retrieval-augmented generation techniques, quantization, and fine-tuning.
Free access to NVIDIA’s HGX H100 GPU servers can offer them unparalleled processing power, allowing them to train large AI models and reduce production time by up to 9x and 30x, respectively. Additionally, the mentoring can provide valuable insights on the next steps that many startups frequently desire.
The cultivation of an ecosystem
Northern Data has declared that the world’s advancement in AI development will be impeded if AI is exclusively controlled by large technology companies. Consequently, the company is committed to allowing entrepreneurs to utilize state-of-the-art hardware.
The AI boom that is currently ongoing has been primarily driven by startups, even though it is a disruptive technology that has garnered the support of companies such as Microsoft and Google. Synthesia, Anthropic, and OpenAI all paved the way before the big tech titans began to pay heed to their AI development.
Indeed, Northern Data’s announcement coincides with a significant increase in AI activity within the European tech ecosystem.
AI Investment
A recent report by GP Bullhound, a tech advisory and investment firm, emphasizes the burgeoning potential and resilience of Europe’s tech sector, driven by the rapid advancement of AI technologies.
The report emphasizes the continent’s capacity for unprecedented development, establishing the foundation for a future in which AI-powered solutions transform industries and propel Europe to the forefront of global innovation.
The previous year, European AI companies received more than €11 billion in funding. Notably, the AI/ML sector was the source of 36% of the new unicorns.
A UK startup has secured Europe’s largest-ever AI investment of US$1.05 billion in funding to develop autonomous vehicle solutions, thereby establishing the UK as the third-largest AI market in the world.
The UK and France are the leading countries in the startup arena, each with three unicorns. The UK’s unicorns are valued at US$3.4 billion, with contributions from AI leaders such as Synthesia and Builder.ai. In comparison, France’s trio has a collective valuation of US$7 billion, highlighted by innovators such as Mistral AI. This trend is further exemplified by the above.
AI Acceleration
Northern Data’s AI Accelerator program serves as a catalyst for additional expansion amid the AI surge.
The program endeavors to expand the potential offerings in the AI market by democratizing access to AI-capable HPC solutions and industry mentorship, thereby unlocking the full potential of emergent ideas in the AI sphere.