In a surprising move that saw its shares jump 12%, Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) recently made known its third venture in the artificial intelligence (AI) realm. This Texas-based bitcoin mining and data center firm has garnered attention with a strategic partnership entailing the use of supercomputers from Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HEP). Constructed with NVIDIA H100 graphic processing units, these HPE Cray XD supercomputers promise to bolster the firm’s AI cloud service, making it more efficient and effective for demanding workloads.
Applied Digital anticipates that this partnership will enable the firm to better handle AI, machine learning, rendering, and high-performance computing tasks that rely heavily on digital modeling and simulations. This big step could potentially rake in approximately $820 million over the coming three years, underpinned by two recent hosting deals specifically for AI loads. It appears bitcoin miners are not letting the current slump in bitcoin prices dampen their spirits, but instead, they are looking to AI to help compensate for the shortfall of revenues, a move that squarely puts Applied Digital in the forefront of a burgeoning trend in the bitcoin mining industry.
One case in point is Canada’s Hive Blockchain (HIVE), who divulged plans to deploy its GPU fleet for training large-scale enterprise language models. Amplifying this strategic direction, the partnership instigates, in the words of Applied Digital’s CEO Wes Cummins, a “pivotal time for our company,” as they work towards expanding their high-performance computing (HPC) data centers’ capacity pipeline from a current 9MW in their custom-built Jamestown facility to an impressive 200MW.
Moreover, Hewlett Packard Enterprises isn’t just providing the high-power machinery; it’s changing the supercomputing landscape. On June 20, HPE announced its foray into supercomputing-as-a-service, granting customers effortless access to the supercomputing power without the need to lay down the extensive infrastructure traditionally required for such powerful computing tasks. This positions HPE among a select few contemporaries in the supercomputing field, vying against heavyweights like Google, IBM, Intel and Nvidia.
While the future is not set in stone, AI may be providing a saving grace for bitcoin miners in financially testing times. If Applied Digital’s foresight proves wise, this marriage of supercomputing and blockchain technologies could establish a viable, if not lucrative, alternative for many distressed miners.
Source: Coindesk
