Nvidia , a leading company in graphics computing and artificial intelligence technology, has presented its new Blackwell platform to the world, on March 20, 2024 , during Nvidia's annual GTC (GPU Technology Conference) .
In the presentation, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang mentioned that Blackwell is "the engine of the new industrial revolution" and has the potential to "democratize AI" by making it more accessible to businesses and organizations around the world.
What does Blackwell offer us?
In this article we tell you everything we know.
Blackwell and the world's most powerful chip
The B200 chip , the heart of the Blackwell platform, features 208 billion transistors, tripling the number of its predecessor, the H100. This impressive number of transistors translates into 30 times the performance of the H100, while consuming 25 times less power.
Blackwell stands out not only for its raw power, but also for its energy efficiency . This efficiency is crucial for the development of large-scale AI applications, as it significantly reduces operating costs and environmental impact.
Nvidia also introduced the Blackwell GB200 , a superchip that combines two B200 GPUs with a Grace CPU. This superchip is designed for large language model (LLM) inference workloads, such as text generation, machine translation, and question answering.
The Blackwell GB200 delivers up to 30 times the performance of current solutions, making it ideal for large-scale AI application research and development.
Nvidia Applications and Strategic Partnerships
Blackwell's applications are vast and include:
- Conversational artificial intelligence : more sophisticated and realistic chatbots.
- Machine translation : instant and accurate translations in real time.
- Image recognition : analyze images and videos with greater precision.
- Drug development : designing new drugs and treatments faster.
- Robotics : smarter and more autonomous robots.
Similarly, Nvidia has announced a series of strategic partnerships with leading companies in various sectors to leverage the power of Blackwell. These partnerships span a wide range of industries, including:
- Automotive : Nvidia has partnered with BMW , Mercedes-Benz , and Volkswagen to develop more advanced autonomous and electric vehicles.
- Healthcare : Nvidia has partnered with GE Healthcare and Siemens Healthineers to develop more accurate and efficient diagnostic and treatment tools.
- Manufacturing : Nvidia has partnered with Siemens and ABB to develop smarter, more flexible robots and automation systems.
- Retail : Nvidia has partnered with Walmart and Amazon to develop more sophisticated e-commerce and data analytics solutions.
- Telecommunications : Nvidia has partnered with AT&T and Verizon to develop faster and more reliable 5G networks.
These partnerships are just the tip of the iceberg. Nvidia hopes Blackwell will be used by companies around the world to create revolutionary new AI applications.
When will Blackwell be available?
Blackwell is not yet available for purchase , but Nvidia announced in its presentation that it will be available to customers starting in 2025 .
In short, Blackwell's unveiling marks a milestone in the history of computing. This platform has the potential to transform the way we interact with technology and solve some of the world's biggest challenges with the most powerful chip in history.