VMware, Nvidia partner to build a new AI enterprise platform and hybrid cloud architecture

Palo Alto, California headquartered cloud major VMWare has announced a new artificial intelligence (AI) based end-to-end enterprise platform and a new data centre architecture for cloud and edge in partnership with chipmaker Nvidia.

Announced at the digital VMWorld 2020 conference, the partnership will utilise Nvidia’s data processing units to support next-generation and existing applications, the company said in a statement. 

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Specifically, AI software and tools available on Santa Clara based Nvidia’s NGC hub will be integrated into VMware cloud virtualization platform -- vSphere, VMware cloud foundation and the company’s Kubernetes development platform -- VMware Tanzu.

Nvidia NGC is a repository of GPU-optimized (graphics processing units) containers, Kubernetes helm charts, deep learning models and others.

“We are partnering with NVIDIA to bring AI to every enterprise; true democratization of one of the most powerful technologies,” Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware said.

Gelsinger added that a new hybrid cloud architecture being built would support the demands of the next generation of applications.

In addition, a new project called Project Monterey will see the two companies build a hybrid cloud architecture based on SmartNIC (network adapter that accelerates functionality) with the help of Nvidia’s high end data processing unit Bluefield.

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The combination of VMWare cloud Foundation and Nvidia’s BlueField-2 will aid companies with AI, machine learning based, data centric applications.

Nvidia said that Project Monterey will also provide an extra layer of security through a new architecture that offloads critical data center services from CPU to SmartNICs. 

“NVIDIA DPUs will give companies the ability to build secure, programmable, software-defined data centres that can accelerate all enterprise applications at exceptional value,” Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA said.

VMWorld 2020 conference is the company’s annual virtualization and cloud computing conference and is being held online around the globe from September 29 to October 1.