NVIDIA’s introduction of the Blackwell platform signifies a remarkable advancement in computing technology. The platform, featuring the new Blackwell GPU, is engineered to drive a new era of computing, empowering organizations to develop and deploy AI models with up to trillion parameters. This innovation is poised to catalyze breakthroughs across various domains, including data processing, engineering simulation, electronic design automation, computer-aided drug design, quantum computing, and generative AI.
The Blackwell GPU architecture integrates six transformative technologies for accelerated computing. Notable advancements include new Tensor Cores and a TensorRT-LLM Compiler, which collectively reduce the operational cost and energy consumption of LLM inference by up to 25 times. This positions the Blackwell platform as a highly efficient solution for executing large-scale AI models.
The platform has garnered extensive support from major cloud providers, server manufacturers, and leading AI companies, including Amazon Web Services, Dell Technologies, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, Tesla, and xAI. This widespread adoption underscores the platform’s potential to revolutionize computing across industries.
- New Blackwell GPU, NVLink and Resilience Technologies Enable Trillion-Parameter-Scale AI Models
- New Tensor Cores and TensorRT- LLM Compiler Reduce LLM Inference Operating Cost and Energy by up to 25x
- New Accelerators Enable Breakthroughs in Data Processing, Engineering Simulation, Electronic Design Automation, Computer-Aided Drug Design and Quantum Computing
- Widespread Adoption by Every Major Cloud Provider, Server Maker and Leading AI Company
One of the key features of the Blackwell architecture is its capability to perform matrix math with floating point numbers just 4 bits wide, offering unparalleled precision and efficiency. Additionally, the architecture incorporates the fifth generation of NVIDIA’s computer interconnect technology, NVLink, which facilitates bidirectional communication at 1.8 terabytes per second between GPUs. This high-speed communication capability is essential for constructing large-scale computers capable of processing trillion-parameter neural network models.
The unveiling of the next-gen Blackwell GPUs by NVIDIA highlights a significant reduction in costs and energy consumption for AI processing tasks. The GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip promises up to 30 times performance increase for LLM inference workloads compared to previous iterations, showcasing the transformative potential of this advancement in computing.
In summary, NVIDIA’s Blackwell platform represents a major leap forward in computing technology, offering unparalleled efficiency, performance, and scalability for AI applications. Its adoption by leading companies and its potential to revolutionize various industries underscore its significance in the ongoing evolution of computing.
NVIDIA’s Blackwell platform incorporates six groundbreaking technologies aimed at driving accelerated computing and advancing generative AI. These innovations enable AI training and real-time Large Language Model (LLM) inference for models scaling up to 10 trillion parameters:
- World’s Most Powerful Chip: The Blackwell-architecture GPUs boast 208 billion transistors and are produced using a custom-built 4NP TSMC process. They feature two-reticle limit GPU dies connected by a 10 TB/second chip-to-chip link into a unified GPU.
- Second-Generation Transformer Engine: Fueled by new micro-tensor scaling support and advanced dynamic range management algorithms from NVIDIA, this engine empowers Blackwell to support double the compute and model sizes with new 4-bit floating point AI inference capabilities.
- Fifth-Generation NVLink: This iteration of NVIDIA NVLink delivers groundbreaking bidirectional throughput of 1.8TB/s per GPU, facilitating seamless high-speed communication among up to 576 GPUs for complex LLMs.
- RAS Engine: Blackwell-powered GPUs feature a dedicated engine for reliability, availability, and serviceability. The architecture also integrates AI-based preventative maintenance capabilities at the chip level, maximizing system uptime and improving resiliency for massive-scale AI deployments.
- Secure AI: Advanced confidential computing capabilities ensure the protection of AI models and customer data without compromising performance. This includes support for new native interface encryption protocols critical for privacy-sensitive industries.
- Decompression Engine: A dedicated decompression engine accelerates database queries by supporting the latest formats, thereby delivering optimal performance in data analytics and data science. This aligns with the trend of increasingly GPU-accelerated data processing.
The NVIDIA GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchip serves as a pivotal component, connecting two NVIDIA B200 Tensor Core GPUs to the NVIDIA Grace CPU via a 900GB/s ultra-low-power NVLink chip-to-chip interconnect. This superchip, integrated into the GB200 NVL72 system, combines 36 Grace Blackwell Superchips, 72 Blackwell GPUs, and 36 Grace CPUs interconnected by fifth-generation NVLink. Additionally, GB200 NVL72 includes NVIDIA BlueField-3 data processing units to enhance cloud network acceleration, storage, security, and GPU compute elasticity in hyperscale AI clouds. The GB200 NVL72 offers up to a 30x performance increase compared to the same number of NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs for LLM inference workloads, while simultaneously reducing cost and energy consumption by up to 25x.
Overall, the Blackwell platform, with its revolutionary technologies and powerful superchip, represents a significant advancement in computing capabilities, poised to fuel accelerated computing and drive innovation in generative AI.
