Starting signal for top AI supercomputer at FAU
Science minister Blume visits the National High-Performance Computing Center Erlangen
New milestone in AI infrastructure for Bavarian researchers: At the Center for National High-Performance Computing Erlangen at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (NHR@FAU), the installation of the latest supercomputer (“Helma”) with the latest NVIDIA GPUs has been completed. Bavaria’s Science Minister Markus Blume has given the starting signal for the currently most powerful AI computer system at universities in Germany.
Science Minister Markus Blume: “In Erlangen, we are investing not only in concrete but also in artificial intelligence: At NHR@FAU, the first 384 NVIDIA H200 GPUs have been installed for the development of the Bavarian AI base model – another significant contribution to building a powerful AI computer infrastructure for our universities. This is just the beginning, as more GPUs will follow. With outstandingly staffed AI professorships, our Bavarian universities have the necessary expertise. Now we are providing them with technology optimized for the development and training of AI models. This is a unique initiative nationwide. We are convinced that being at the forefront of key technologies is the foundation of our sovereignty and prosperity in the future.”
Free State of Bavaria invests in computing capacity
In addition to the GPUs reserved for the AI model, Helma contains 200 more GPUs, which were procured as part of the “BayernKI für die Wissenschaft“ initiative. This computing capacity, also built from the Free State’s budget funds, is available to all scientists at the Free State’s universities through a simple and fast procedure. The goal of the Bavarian state government is to build a modern and powerful AI computer infrastructure for the universities through these and further investments at NHR@FAU and at the Leibniz Supercomputing Center of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences.
AI is at home at FAU
FAU President Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger emphasizes: “The topic of AI is inseparably linked with FAU. For more than 50 years, research on this topic has been conducted at our university. Around 80 professorships work on fields closely related to artificial intelligence – for example, in the field of engineering technology in the Bavarian AI digital health hub. “Helma,” the new high-performance computer for artificial intelligence at FAU, opens up new possibilities for our scientists in their research. It creates the necessary foundation to be at the forefront of international AI research.”
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wellein, head of NHR@FAU, says: “With the computing power of Helma, we can provide researchers with a tool that is internationally competitive. Even at the first expansion stage, Helma ranked 79th worldwide at the end of last year. With the expansion fully financed by the state, our capacities will double again – much to the delight of our many users.”
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