Swiss telco Swisscom will partner with Nvidia to build generative AI full-stack supercomputers in Switzerland for the development of specialized and new AI use cases for both internal and customer use.
The machines will be based on Nvidia accelerated computing and the company’s AI Enterprise software platform, which includes the Nvidia NeMo framework for building, customizing, and deploying generative AI applications.
Swisscom plans to obtain the latest technologies from Nvidia to establish what it describes as a 'Trusted AI Factory' for its Swiss customers.
The company will also have access to Nvidia industry experts and will function as a strategic reseller of the chip designer’s technology, such as the Nvidia DGX supercomputing platform and Nvidia GPUs.
“Telcos are increasingly seen as leaders in building, hosting, and deploying sovereign AI. Having a trusted, high-performance infrastructure is becoming critical to every nation’s technological advancement,” said Keith Strier, vice president of worldwide AI Initiatives at Nvidia. “Building on Nvidia’s full-stack accelerated computing platform for streamlining the development and deployment of production-grade AI applications Swisscom can enable leading, real-world AI solutions to Swiss companies, driving the transformation of the country’s economy.”
The cooperation forms part of Swisscom’s wider plan to invest up to 100 million Swiss Francs ($118 million) in AI infrastructure and service deployment in the coming years.
As part of the strategy, Swiscomm’s Italian subsidiary Fastweb announced in December it had purchased 31 Nvidia DGX H100 systems in addition to the first large-scale Nvidia DGX AI-powered supercomputer in Italy to develop a national AI system.
“Working with Nvidia enables us to act as a bridge-builder between the possibilities of technology and the needs of customers. As a first step, we are building a high-performance infrastructure upon which we will create trustworthy services. We have been in close contact with many customers to consult them on their specific needs,” said Christoph Aeschlimann, CEO of Swisscom.
He added: “Everyone talks about generative AI, but the gap between expectations and reality is tremendous. A customer must be sure what happens with its data, where it happens, and how it happens. Switzerland, with its many multinational organizations, needs trusted and unique sovereign building blocks for AI. That is where we step in. We are developing it in a reliable and secure manner, with a distinct Swiss flavor, hand in hand with Nvidia."
