- Ampere Computing and Qualcomm have integrated their chips into a data centre server, aiming to efficiently run AI models after training.
- The collaboration between the two companies is seen as a strategic move to enhance competitiveness against rivals like Nvidia in the AI chip market.
- Ampere, using technology from Arm Holdings, focuses on energy-efficient chip production, while Qualcomm enters the AI chip market for data centres with its power-efficient solutions.
Ampere Computing announced that it is partnering with Qualcomm to introduce a new solution designed to reduce the power consumption costs of operating artificial intelligence chips.
The two companies integrated their chips into data centre server
Founded by Renee James, a former president of Intel, Ampere uses technology from Arm Holdings to create central processing chips utilised by companies like Oracle and Alphabet’s Google. The startup focuses on producing chips that are more energy-efficient than those from industry leaders Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.
Qualcomm, a dominant player in the mobile phone chip market, has been striving to enter the AI chip market for data centres since 2019 with its own power-efficient solutions. Ampere and Qualcomm announced on Thursday that they have integrated their chips into a single data centre server.
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The new servers aim to run AI models after training efficiently
“Treat this as … the first of the things that we’re working on,” said Jeff Wittich, Ampere’s chief product officer.
“Obviously, can do things that are much bigger than building server-level solutions as we get out in the future given that we’re both tackling a similar type of problem.”
The joint Ampere-Qualcomm offering will not compete directly with AI chip leader Nvidia, whose chips are used to train AI systems with vast amounts of data. Instead, the Ampere-Qualcomm servers are designed to efficiently run those models after they have been trained.
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The collaboration can enhance competitiveness against rivals
“For both of these companies, it’s about keeping their competition out of the data centre”, said Jim McGregor, founder of Tirias Research.
Both Ampere and Qualcomm also compete indirectly with Nvidia, as AI chips are often sold in systems that integrate multiple types of chips. By working together, Ampere and Qualcomm can prevent potential rivals from gaining a foothold with customers, McGregor said.
