IBM and AMD Collaborate to Enhance AI Training with Zyphra
In a significant move to advance the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, IBM and AMD have announced a strategic partnership with Zyphra, an open-source AI research and product company based in San Francisco, California. This collaboration aims to deliver advanced AI infrastructure to Zyphra by leveraging a substantial cluster of AMD Instinct MI300X GPUs on IBM Cloud. This initiative marks a milestone in AI infrastructure development, promising to enhance generative AI training capabilities with an AMD stack running on IBM Cloud.
The Partnership Unveiled
Zyphra, a company at the forefront of AI and open science, recently closed a Series A funding round, achieving a valuation of $1 billion. Its mission is to establish a superintelligence lab that focuses on groundbreaking innovations in neural network architectures, long-term memory, and continual learning. The collaboration with IBM and AMD is strategic, given their advanced product roadmaps and the ability to deliver GPU accelerators swiftly, which are crucial for Zyphra’s journey towards innovation.
Under the multi-year agreement, IBM will provide Zyphra with a large-scale, dedicated training cluster on IBM Cloud. This setup will utilize AMD Instinct MI300X GPUs along with AMD Pensando Pollara 400 AI NICs and AMD Pensando Ortano DPUs. The initial deployment became available to Zyphra in early September, with further expansions planned for 2026.
Zyphra’s Vision with the New Infrastructure
The advanced training cluster provided by IBM and AMD will empower Zyphra to develop multimodal foundation models that integrate language, vision, and audio modalities. These models are intended to fuel Maia, Zyphra’s general-purpose superagent, which aims to enhance productivity for knowledge workers across various enterprises. As Zyphra’s AI model training requirements grow, IBM and AMD are well-positioned to scale computational resources accordingly.
Krithik Puthalath, CEO and Chairman of Zyphra, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, "This partnership marks the first successful integration and scaling of AMD’s full-stack training platform—spanning compute through networking—on IBM Cloud. Zyphra is honored to lead the way in developing frontier models with AMD silicon on IBM Cloud. We’re excited to partner with IBM and AMD to power the next era of open-source, enterprise superintelligence."
Pioneering a New Era in AI Training Infrastructure
The collaboration between IBM and AMD is not new; they had previously announced plans to deploy AMD Instinct MI300X accelerators as a service on IBM Cloud. Known for its security, reliability, and scalability, IBM Cloud provides a robust infrastructure that complements the capabilities of AMD Instinct MI300X. This service was designed to enhance the performance and power efficiency of generative AI models and high-performance computing (HPC) applications.
Alan Peacock, GM of IBM Cloud, emphasized the importance of fast and efficient AI workload scaling, stating, "Scaling AI workloads faster and more efficiently is a key differentiator in achieving ROI for established enterprises and emerging companies alike. We are delighted to support Zyphra’s strategic roadmap as we collaborate with AMD to deliver scalable, economical AI infrastructure that can accelerate Zyphra’s model training."
Philip Guido, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer of AMD, added, "The IBM and AMD collaboration delivers innovation at the speed and scale clients demand, representing a new standard in AI infrastructure. By combining IBM’s enterprise cloud expertise with AMD’s leadership in high-performance computing and AI acceleration, we are supporting Zyphra’s pioneering work in multimodal and inference-efficient AI, enabling organizations everywhere to build smarter businesses and unlock AI solutions that drive real-world outcomes."
The Future of AI Infrastructure
IBM and AMD are breaking new ground in AI infrastructure, redefining performance, efficiency, and scalability for both enterprises and startups. Their hybrid infrastructure environment provides a foundation for scaling AI, offering options such as hybrid multi-cloud to enhance cloud ROI and deliver value for clients’ generative AI deployments.
Recently, IBM and AMD also announced plans to develop next-generation computing architectures. This initiative, known as quantum-centric supercomputing, will leverage IBM’s leadership in developing world-class quantum computers and software, alongside AMD’s expertise in high-performance computing and AI accelerators.
About IBM
IBM is a global leader in hybrid cloud, AI, and consulting services, helping clients in over 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge. Thousands of governments and corporate entities rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift for efficient, secure digital transformations. IBM is committed to innovation in AI, quantum computing, and industry-specific cloud solutions, underpinned by values of trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.
For more information, visit IBM’s website.
About AMD
AMD is renowned for its high-performance computing and graphics technologies, powering numerous devices and applications worldwide. They are at the forefront of developing cutting-edge solutions in AI acceleration and high-performance computing.
The collaboration between IBM, AMD, and Zyphra represents a significant step forward in the field of AI. As companies and researchers continue to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve, partnerships like this one will be crucial in providing the infrastructure and support needed to realize these ambitious goals. This venture not only highlights the potential of AI but also underscores the importance of collaboration and innovation in driving technological advancement.
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