Zenith, a new AI supercomputer for science, has been launched at Cambridge University.
Hosted at the university’s Ray Dolby Centre, the machine has been built by Dell and AMD. Its precise specs have not been revealed, but when funding for Zenith was announced in January, the university said it would provide a sixfold boost to its supercomputing capability.
A series of use cases has been identified for the new machine, including aiding cancer research and diagnosis, and detailed weather forecasting to aid maritime navigation in harsh environments such as the Arctic. Funding for the £36 million ($48m) supercomputer was provided by the UK government.
The Zenith supercomputer – Nick Saffell/Cambridge University
Those present at a launch event for Zenith learned about two other supercomputing initiatives Cambridge is undertaking with the UK government, which also launched its AI Hardware Plan this week to coincide with London Tech Week.
