The changes that generative AI have brought to the technology landscape in the past year are seismic.
As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang put it a few months back: “A new computing era has begun. The industry is simultaneously going through two platform transitions: accelerated computing and generative AI. Data centers are making a platform shift from general-purpose to accelerated computing. The trillion dollars of global data centers will transition to accelerated computing to achieve an order of magnitude better performance, energy efficiency, and cost."
This once-in-a-lifetime shift calls for new thinking from the creators of DatacenterDynamics as well. That’s why InfraXmedia, DCD’s parent company is announcing the launch of Yotta, a brand-new conference and tradeshow that’s designed to look at digital infrastructure holistically.
To understand the need for Yotta, just think about how even some hyperscalers were caught flat-footed in the weeks and months after the release of ChatGPT. Late last year, DCD broke the news that Meta was canceling or pausing data center projects mid-development around the world as it suddenly shifted to support artificial intelligence workloads amid a generative AI pivot.
How is it that one of the world’s largest data center operators wasn’t ready for what was coming? One answer could be that “digital infrastructure” doesn’t exist yet as a collective industry, at least not in the same way that the aviation industry exists.
Can you imagine Boeing unveiling a new ultra-high capacity plane that requires a longer runway and triple-decker jetway without telling the airports years in advance? That would be unlikely to happen. But that’s pretty close to what’s happened in digital infrastructure in the past year.
“The industry needs a new conversation—in addition to the powerful ones that already happen at DCD events,” says George Rockett, the founder of DCD & Yotta. “Yotta will be a place for data center industry leaders to meet with chip makers, server, storage and network OEMs, cloud providers, investors, startups, enterprise IT leaders, and all the other important stakeholders in the digital infrastructure ecosystem.”
Yotta will be held Oct. 7-9, 2024 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, and feature three days of varied, compelling content, including mainstage keynote interviews; a Shark Tank-style startup pitch session; Future Focus, an invite-only summit for C-level executives; Collab Tracks focused on pressing issues like the future of the data center, building sustainable infrastructure; the impact of AI; advances in power and cooling; and the new economics of infrastructure. In addition to the most forward-looking content in the industry, Yotta will feature thousands of pre-arranged 1:1 meetings, a giant expo hall, and countless networking events and opportunities.
For the last six months, the NY-based Yotta team has worked with George on perfecting the vision and mission of Yotta, and lining up early advisors, industry partners, and launch sponsors. That impressive roster includes support from: Microsoft, Dell, Cloudflare, Ampere Computing, Uber, Netflix, Sidewalk Infra Partners, Greenberg Traurig, Schneider Electric, and many more.
“The industry’s early response to the mission of Yotta has been extremely positive,” says Rebecca Sausner, CEO of Yotta. “Without exception, everyone seems to agree that the time has come to break down the silos to increase collaboration, and that a new event platform is necessary to do it.”
To reach this wider ecosystem, Yotta has partnered with groups like the Telecommunications Industry Association, the Global Satellite Operators Association, the World Teleport Association, Open Compute Project, IDC Research, Plug and Play, Autonomy Institute, Alliance of Channel Women, InterGlobix, Northern Virginia Technology Council, Internet Infrastructure Coalition, and more.
In addition to this cross-ecosystem support, Yotta is building an advisory board that personifies the full-stack ambitions of the platform that includes leaders from the silicon world such as Renee J James, CEO of Ampere to pioneers in the field of nuclear SMR technology, such as Caroline Cochran, Founder of Oklo. (See the full list here)