China is “the first to train a single generative AI model across multiple data centers” with an innovative mix of “non-sanctioned” GPUs forced by US import blocks on AI tech
Chinese AI data centers are splitting their GenAI workloads, potentially solving the issue of power limits.
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Despite an ongoing saga of import restrictions and outright blocksdeterring NVIDIA from shipping approximately $5 billion worth of AI chips, the state of generative AI in China doesn’t seem to be slowing down. On the contrary, the country appears to be pooling whatever resources it has left afterNVIDIA was blocked from selling its A800 and H800 AI and HPC GPUs in their local marketand inventing clever ways to combine “non-sanctioned” hardware across multiple, separate data centers.
China has gotten very good at creating and running AI training clusters with many more nodes and lower-performing hardware than the US. China was also the first to train a single GAI model across multiple data centers, too. I discovered this at the GSA meeting this week from a… https://t.co/3gAw78vs99September 27, 2024
Tech industry analystPatrick Moorhead claimed via X (formerly Twitter)that China is excelling with “lower-performing hardware” than what is available to generative AI developers in the United States and that it recently became “the first to train a single GAI model across multiple data centers.” It comes with a pinch of salt as the source was “a very large company” during a conversation protected by an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), but it would be a realistic solution to the gigantic electricity consumption seen in Microsoft and Google’s AI efforts.
How is China pushing AI forward without the latest GPUs?
Althoughthe United States government’s restrictionsforce NVIDIA to acquire licenses to ship its A100, A800, H100, and H800 GPUs designed explicitly for artificial intelligence computing, this hasn’t halted China’s generative AI efforts, as the country finds inventive and unusual workarounds. Primarily, a tactic to"meld GPUs from different brands into one training cluster" (via Tom’s Hardware)keeps its researchers pushing ahead with whatever hardware is at hand.
NVIDIA might be theworld’s leading GPU manufacturer, but propping up its data centers with alternatives from brands like Huawei’s “Ascend” AI range keeps China’s efforts growing, even if at a slower rate than it would with the latest cutting-edge components.
Splitting these “melded” AI processing efforts across multiple data centers could be more of a solution to the worries that"there won’t be enough power (for AI) by 2025" predicted by Elon Muskearlier this year, but undoubtedly signals the tremendous growth of generative AI and lends some credibility thatsuperintelligence might only be “a few thousand days” awayfrom well-equipped firms like Sam Altman’s US-based OpenAI.
Above all, this tidbit proves that artificial intelligence is anything but a fad, regardless of its reception by the masses. China continues to expand into generative AI despite its restrictions, whileMicrosoft makes a $1.3 billion investment in Mexicoas the West grows with practically unlimited access to NVIDIA’s high-end AI GPUs. Whether China’s researchers make any substantial gains by running a single model over data centers isn’t clear just yet, but it’s obvious that sanctions from the US haven’t deterred them at all.
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Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.
