The University of Texas in Austin is creating a Center for Generative AI powered by a cluster of 600 Nvidia H100 GPUs.
The new cluster, dubbed Vista, will be hosted and supported by the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and will be housed within the university’s interdisciplinary Machine Learning Laboratory. Once launched, the cluster will be one of the largest in academia.
Experts from TACC will use the cluster to collaborate with external partners to develop and apply generative AI solutions across sectors that include biosciences and health care, focusing on computer vision and natural language processing.
“Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing our world, and this investment comes at the right time to help UT shape the future through our teaching and research,” said the president of the university, Jay Hartzell.
He added: “World-class computing power combined with our breadth of AI research expertise will uniquely position UT to speed advances in health care, drug development, materials, and other industries that could have a profound impact on people and society. We have designated 2024 as the Year of AI at UT, and a big reason why is the combination of the trends and opportunities across society, our talented people and strengths as a university, and now, our significant investment in the Center for Generative AI.”
The University of Texas is also home to the Frontera supercomputer, the fastest US academic system according to the Top500 rankings published in June 2023. It was announced this week that Frontera was one of six systems selected for inclusion in the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) two-year pilot plan to democratize access to AI technology and research.
