Aramco Digital Company, a subsidiary of global energy giant Aramco, has teamed up with Groq, a leader in AI inference technology, to create the world’s largest inferencing data center in Saudi Arabia. This venture is part of a series of steps aimed at bolstering Saudi Arabia’s stance as a frontrunner in digital transformation and AI technology.
AI inference involves processing live data through a trained AI model to perform tasks such as spam detection, speech-to-text conversion, or summarizing documents. Groq specializes in delivering rapid AI inference solutions both in the cloud and on-premises, making them a fitting partner for Aramco Digital’s ambitious project.
The Saudi Press Agency hailed the collaboration as a pivotal advancement for the Kingdom’s digital initiatives and a testament to its emerging leadership in global AI and cloud computing sectors.
While specific details about the construction or outfitting of the inferencing data center remain undisclosed, it is projected that the facility will handle 5.28 million tokens per second by the end of 2024, and escalate to 53 million tokens per second by 2025. Token generation latency, the time it takes an AI model to produce a word or part of a word, will measure the inferencing speed.
Further enhancing its AI capabilities, Aramco Digital is also set to bring its voice-commanded generative AI model, Norous, to market, supported by Groq’s semiconductor expertise. This is part of Aramco Digital’s broader strategy, which includes several other significant collaborations in the AI and tech sphere.
One such partnership is with Cerebras Systems, aiming to enhance AI inference performance across various sectors within Saudi Arabia using Cerebras’s CS-3 systems. This collaboration will focus on accelerating the development and deployment of large language models and AI applications.
Additionally, Aramco Digital is collaborating with Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia’s Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) to initiate a startup incubator program. This program will support local AI, wireless technology, and IoT startups by providing technical support, business coaching, and IP training.
In another groundbreaking move, Aramco Digital unveiled the world’s first processors with native 5G support in the 450MHz spectrum, developed together with Qualcomm. This innovation is set to further enhance the technological landscape in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
