UK's Most Powerful Supercomputer Launches Following a £225 Million Investment

Image Credit: University of Bristol

The UK has unveiled its most advanced supercomputer, the Isambard-AI, at the University of Bristol, backed by a staggering £225 million investment from the government's Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (AIRR). This marvel of technology, capable of executing up to 200 quadrillion calculations per second, is not just the nation's fastest and most powerful supercomputer but also an environmentally friendly one, outperforming the UK's previous leader by a factor of ten. Isambard-AI is ranked as the second most sustainable supercomputer in the world and the 129th most high-performing globally.

Isambard-AI is set to transform several fields, including AI safety, pharmaceuticals through automated drug discovery, climate studies, and the development of sophisticated language models. Its activation heralds a significant leap in the UK's research capabilities, enabling types of research that were previously unimaginable within the country. Key organisations, such as the AI Safety Institute, are poised to harness its formidable computational power, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries.

This project not only underscores the rapid growth in demand for AI-enabled supercomputing resources but also addresses the substantial energy requirements associated with such developments. Constructed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and featuring state-of-the-art technologies like direct liquid cooling systems and NVIDIA's hybrid CPU-GPU solutions, Isambard-AI stands out as one of the most energy-efficient supercomputers ever created, ensuring a sustainable future for computational research.

Housed within a self-sustaining, cooled data centre at the National Composites Centre in the Bristol and Bath Science Park, Isambard-AI will also link to a new supercomputer cluster at the University of Cambridge known as Dawn. This cluster is part of an expansive new initiative under the national AIRR to enhance the UK's computational research infrastructure.

"Assuming there are eight billion people on earth, and everyone performed one calculation per second, it would take 2.3 years for all eight billion people, working 24/7, 365 days a year, to do what Isambard-AI phase one could do in one second," said Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing at the University of Bristol. "That's a pretty astounding performance, even though we can pack it into a relatively small space.

"Isambard-AI phase one signifies the start of the Isambard-AI service. When the remaining 5,280 GPUs arrive at the University's National Composites Centre later in the summer, it will increase the performance by a factor of 32."

Minister for AI Viscount Camrose described the launch of the first stage of the University of Bristol's supercomputer, Isambard-AI, as a "groundbreaking moment" for UK science, innovation, and technology.

"This world-class equipment will revolutionise research possibilities here in the UK, with our world-first AI Safety Institute among the organisations who are set to benefit by harnessing one of the most powerful computer systems on the planet to drive forward their vital research," he said. "Not only does Isambard-AI rank among the world's fastest supercomputers, but it also sets the standard for eco-conscious computing, leading the charge in efficiency and sustainability. From AI safety to healthcare and climate research, its capabilities are unparalleled, marking the UK as a global leader in AI and responsible innovation."