Intel’s Gaudi 3 AI accelerators set to launch on IBM Cloud in early 2025

Intel has announced plans to make its Gaudi 3 AI accelerators available on IBM Cloud. Expected to launch in early 2025, this collaboration suggests that next year Nvidia will have tougher competition than ever before.

Intel launched its Gaudi 3 AI accelerators earlier this year as part of Intel Vision 2024, where Intel pitched them against Nvidia’s H100 and H200 accelerators. Intel claimed that Gaudi 3 was 1.7x faster in time-to-train tests than the H100 and 1.3x quicker at iteration than the H200. 

Alongside performance, Intel was also keen to emphasise Gaudi 3’s ready availability, which this partnership with IBM Cloud goes some way to prove.

“By integrating Gaudi 3 AI accelerators and Xeon CPUs with IBM Cloud, we are creating new AI capabilities and meeting the demand for affordable, secure and innovative AI computing solutions,” said Justin Hotard, Intel Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Data Center and AI Group.

By bringing the Gaudi 3 to the IBM Cloud, Intel is aiming to not only offer a scalable cloud alternative for enterprises, but one that promises better control over the AI workload. Naturally, with the promise of low costs and high performance.

Why IBM Cloud is using Gaudi 3 AI accelerators

For IBM, introducing Gaudi 3 is the latest in its long-standing collaboration with Intel. And one that, it claims, will reduce costs to its customers.

“Leveraging Intel’s Gaudi 3 accelerators on IBM Cloud will provide our clients access to a flexible enterprise AI solution that aims to optimise cost performance,” said Alan Peacock, General Manager of IBM Cloud.

Alongside these potential cost savings, IBM promises another key benefit: greater security. In particular, IBM claims, introducing Intel’s Gaudi 3 AI accelerators into IBM Cloud Virtual Servers for Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) will help enterprises that use x86-based architectures to run apps more securely. 

IBM will add support for Gaudi 3 technology within its watsonx AI platform, allowing IBM’s watsonx clients to also benefit from the partnership.

Intel Gaudi vs Nvidia

Should the Gaudi 3 AI accelerators live up to the benchmarks we reported on earlier this year, this announcement could prove to be a strong alternative choice for enterprises looking for an AI cloud solution that doesn’t rely on Nvidia.

And partnering with IBM is a signal that one of the world’s most trusted brands, particularly within the world of enterprise AI, backs Gaudi 3 accelerators. 

Whether this collaboration will seriously challenge Nvidia’s chokehold on the AI industry remains to be seen. However, this step does see Intel back up its promise for a more open ecosystem than can be offered by the current incumbents.