UF to get new supercomputer to advance Artificial Intelligence education

The University of Florida (UF) will soon possess one of the most powerful supercomputers on the planet now that the school’s Board of Trustees approved funding to purchase the machine.

The UF Board of Trustees approved the $24 million purchase of the enhanced version of the UF HiPerGator supercomputer. The new supercomputer will make UF one of the first colleges in the county to possess such a machine, which involves technology not available to consumers.

The supercomputer is manufactured by NVIDIA, which will deliver the machine in early 2025. Chris Malachowsky, a UF alumnus, co-founded that company. The new supercomputer is designed to enhance the HiPerGator machine, which involves Artificial Intelligence (AI) and was operational at UF in 2021. At the time, it was billed as one of the fastest supercomputers in higher education.

“The University of Florida’s commitment to excellence means that we will always work on the cutting edge of innovation. With this new groundbreaking technology, UF will continue to lead the way nationally and bring tremendous value to the state of Florida,” said Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini. “Students, faculty, staff, and researchers throughout Florida will have access to this incredible resource and use it to help solve some of the world’s greatest problems.”

NVIDIA has collaborated with UF for about five years in developing technology for research, education and operations.

“This investment not only helps UF and the state of Florida, it also aligns perfectly with UF’s role as a leading public land-grant institution,” Interim UF President Kent Fuchs said. “The new iteration of HiPerGator will significantly broaden our ability to collaborate with other universities, support their researchers, and, indeed, fuel many more important new discoveries.”

The original HiPerGator had components donated to UF by Malachowsky. The new system will replace some of those. When the original machine was installed at UF, the university wanted to become the nation’s initial AI university to infuse the technology across multiple academic disciplines.

“UF is a proven leader in AI, and this new technology will help us expand our reach even more,” said UF Interim Provost Joe Glover. “As AI continues to impact all facets of the state’s economy, we are thrilled to continue innovating at UF with this cutting-edge supercomputer.”