Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) will be launching a new business line, GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) in Singapore and Southeast Asia in 3Q2024, powered by Nvidia’s graphics processing units, according to a release on Mar 19.
This service will give enterprises access to Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) computing power to drive greater efficiencies to accelerate growth and innovation.
The news comes on the back of Singtel’s launch of its new regional data centre brand Nxera, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Singtel and Nvidia in late Jan. Singtel announced then that it has joined Nvidia’s Partner Network Cloud Programme, which will enable the telco priority to some of the chipmaker’s red-hot demand products.
According to the release, Singtel’s GPUaaS will be powered by Nvidia’s H100 Tensor Core GPU-powered clusters that are operated in existing upgraded data centres in Singapore.
The telco will also be among the world’s first to deploy Nvidia’s next-generation GB200 Grace Blackwell Superchips, which deliver 30x faster real-time large language model inference than its predecessor.
The GB200 superchips have been dubbed the “world’s most powerful chip” for AI. Singtel will be one of the first Nvidia’s partner network cloud partners to receive them early next year.
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The GPUaaS will then be expanded to run in three new sustainable, hyperconnected, high-density AI data centres by Singtel’s Nxera in Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia when they begin operations.
Singtel says that it aims to deploy more than 100 megawatt (MW) of these next-generation sustainable AI-ready data centres through Nxera within the next three years.
“Enterprises of all sizes will be able to harness the full potential of AI through readily available compute power to accelerate their development of generative AI, large language models and other AI workloads. Our next-generation digital infrastructure, which comprises of AI data centres, fixed networks, 5G network with patented Paragon orchestration platform and GPUaaS, will help support Singapore’s AI ambitions and standing as a digital and AI hub, while also supporting digital transformation in the region,” says Bill Chang, CEO of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit — the telco’s data centre subsidiary, and newly launched Nxera.
Shares in Singtel are trading 3 cents higher or 1.205% up at $2.52.
