Isambard-AI is a new GPU-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing system to deliver a national AI Research Resource (AIRR) for the UK, as recommended in the “Independent Review of The Future of Compute: Final report and recommendations ”, and to support the Frontier AI safety taskforce. This new AIRR will support several initiatives, particularly on AI safety and foundational models, where the UK aims to establish a leadership position. Isambard-AI will be delivered as a “self-contained unit”.
The RFP and Contract covers, in summary, the following mandatory requirements:
1. The scale-out GPU-based production system
2. An early access GPU-based system with AI storage
3. High performance network fabric
4. System management support for multi-tenancy:
5. Support for 5 years of service
6. One or more self-contained units
7. Energy efficiency
8. Storage solutions optimised for AI training and inference
9. AI supercomputing facility access and gateway nodes
10. Data Centre Connectivity and Edge Router for Services
11. UPS
12. Data transfer and mover tool
13. Software and licenses
14. Security monitoring, auditing and compliance
15. Monitoring, reporting and RAS tools
16. Eventual decommissioning
17. Training / handover
18. Environmental impact