A partnership between the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO), and NVIDIA is establishing a national AI Innovation Centre in Denmark, concentrating on advancing research and innovation in various fields, including healthcare, life sciences, and quantum computing. Spearheaded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which is contributing approximately DKK 600 million (about $90 million) towards the centre's initial expenses, along with the EIFO's contribution of DKK 100 million.
Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s VP of healthcare, emphasised Denmark’s extensive digital healthcare data set as a crucial asset for the centre's work in drug discovery and precision medicine during a press briefing. Denmark's existing strengths in healthcare data and life sciences research position it favourably for success in these domains.
NVIDIA's generative AI platforms will drive Denmark’s Innovation Center forward. Kimberly Powell announced the collaboration agreement, emphasising the integration of NVIDIA's generative AI platforms such as NVIDIA BioNeMo and NVIDIA CUDA Quantum into Denmark's sovereign AI computer and application development. These technologies are expected to accelerate research in crucial areas like protein-based drug discovery and design.
The centrepiece of the centre will be an AI supercomputer named GEFION, expected to rank among the top 25 supercomputers globally. GEFION, named after the Norse goddess of foresight and abundance, will boast 15,128 H100 Tensor Core GPUs and Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking. The supercomputer will be provided, installed, and configured by Eviden, an Atos Group company. The data centre hosting GEFION will be operated by Digital Realty and will prioritise sustainability, utilising 100% renewable energy sources.
NVIDIA's Quantum-2 InfiniBand networking will complement the processing power of the H100 GPUs, offering high-speed, low-latency connectivity necessary for Gefion's extensive GPU array. This advanced networking platform is tailored for large-scale data processing tasks in research institutions and data centres, ensuring optimal performance for scientific computing applications.
GEFION will adhere to the highest security standards, supporting Danish data sovereignty and handling sensitive data. Payment models are being developed to balance commercial and academic usage, ensuring financial sustainability.
Digital Realty's AI-ready data centre in Denmark will house GEFION, operating on sustainable energy. GEFION is slated to be ready for pilot projects by the end of 2024, with the centre fully operational in early 2025.
Click here to read the original news story.