Software giant NVIDIA plans to launch its “AI Tech Community” initiative in Pittsburgh Monday. The chipmaking giant said the project will “supercharge public-private partnerships across communities rich with potential for enabling technological transformation using AI.”
As part of the new initiative, two NVIDIA technology centers will be established with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. The centers are envisioned as “a bridge for academia, industry and public-sector groups to partner on artificial intelligence innovation,” the company said in a release.
NVIDIA’s center with CMU will focus on robotics, autonomy and AI by using NVIDIA’s latest technology to develop new ideas in the fields of AI and robotics. Pitt’s center will be aimed at innovating computational development across the health sciences, including how to use AI in clinical medicine and biomanufacturing.
NVIDIA has seen a stratospheric rise in recent years as companies invest in the potential of artificial intelligence. The company’s fortunes outpaced Microsoft and Apple in June. Last week, NVIDIA once again eclipsed Microsoft’s market cap, making it the second-largest company in the world behind Apple. NVIDIA’s hardware is used in all Tesla vehicles. That growth has prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to open an inquiry into potential antitrust violations.
The AI Avenue Working Group, a Bakery Square-based consortium of industry, civic and institutional leaders in Pittsburgh, are seeking to link the Steel City to NVIDIA’s rise.
"Pittsburgh is at a pivotal moment, where AI is driving an economic transformation akin to a new industrial revolution. The cities and regions that embrace this shift will emerge as the economic winners of the future,” said Joanna Doven, strategy consultant who alongside the AI Avenue Working Group will host an AI summit in Bakery Square Monday.
“Together, we are positioning Pittsburgh not only as a global AI leader but also as a powerhouse for job creation, fostering thousands of new, high-quality jobs in the industries of tomorrow," she said.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to speak at the summit, where more details about the new technology hubs will be unveiled.
NVIDIA will provide CMU and Pitt with its computing chips, AI and graphics software as well as a slate of other software for robotics learning and custom generative AI. The company said NVIDIA’s tech support will allow the centers to enhance the speed and scalability of their work.
“These centers will tap into NVIDIA’s full-stack AI platform and accelerated computing expertise to gear up tomorrow’s technology leaders for next-generation innovation,” the company said in a blog post last week.
“Pairing Carnegie Mellon University’s existing deep expertise and resources in AI and robotics with NVIDIA’s cutting-edge platform, software and tools has tremendous potential to power Pittsburgh’s already vibrant innovation ecosystem,” said Theresa Mayer, vice president for research at CMU.
CMU has been ranked as the nation’s top AI university according to the U.S. News & World Report, and maintains the world’s largest university-affiliated robotics research group.
Rob Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for research at the University of Pittsburgh, said in a statement that the university has a long history of “extraordinary research” in life sciences.
“By focusing on computational and AI opportunities across these ‘meds and eds’ areas, we plan to leverage our collaboration with NVIDIA to explore new ways to connect these breakthroughs to improved health and education outcomes for everybody,” he said.
The centers will also partner with Pittsburgh’s local AI tech startups including Lovelace AI and Skild AI as well as the Pittsburgh Robotics Network.
