- Amazon Web Services (AWS), the leading cloud computing platform, has clarified that it has not halted orders for Nvidia’s high-end Grace Hopper chips.
- Despite the shift in focus for Project Ceiba, AWS has emphasised that it continues to offer a wide range of services powered by Nvidia’s Hopper chips.
- Following initial reports suggesting that AWS had fully transitioned its orders from Grace Hopper to Blackwell, the Financial Times has updated its story.
Amazon’s cloud services unit, AWS, clarifies that it has not cancelled Nvidia’s advanced chip orders but instead shifted focus to a newer GPU for a joint supercomputer project while continuing to offer services based on Nvidia’s Hopper chips.
Joint supercomputer project spurs GPU upgrade
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the leading cloud computing platform, has clarified that it has not halted orders for Nvidia’s high-end Grace Hopper chips. Instead, the partnership between AWS and Nvidia has led to a strategic decision to incorporate the latest Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs) into their collaborative Project Ceiba. This shift, first announced in March, aims to deliver a significant performance boost for the upcoming supercomputer. While the transition applies specifically to Project Ceiba, AWS maintains its commitment to offering services based on Nvidia’s Hopper chips, which are pivotal in training artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
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AWS continues to support hopper chips for AI services
Despite the shift in focus for Project Ceiba, AWS has emphasised that it continues to offer a wide range of services powered by NVIDIA’s Hopper chips. These chips, as the flagship model for AI training, remain integral to AWS’s comprehensive cloud offerings. The company’s spokesperson clarified that the decision to utilise Blackwell GPUs for the supercomputer project does not reflect a broader change in its approach to using Nvidia’s technology for AI-related services.
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Financial times updates story, confirming orders not yet placed
Following initial reports suggesting that AWS had fully transitioned its orders from Grace Hopper to Blackwell, the Financial Times has updated its story. The newspaper now acknowledges that Amazon’s chip orders had not yet been placed, correcting earlier speculation. This clarification further underscores the strategic nature of the decision to incorporate the newer GPU technology into Project Ceiba, rather than a wholesale change in procurement plans.