Hitachi launches global AI factory using Nvidia technology

Hitachi Ltd on Friday announced the establishment of a global artificial intelligence factory based on reference architecture from Nvidia Corp to accelerate the development of deployable solutions for the company's various core business sectors.

Hitachi, a Tokyo-based conglomerate, said the AI factory is strategically located across the US, Japan, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The AI factory is powered by Hitachi iQ, an AI analytics platform, and the HGX B200 system from Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker Nvidia.

"This strategic initiative directly supports Hitachi's ambition to create and deploy AI that interacts with the real world. The AI factory will also enable Hitachi to further expand HMAX— the company’s family of AI-enabled solutions solving a wide-range of complex problems in the mobility, energy, industrial and technology sectors," Hitachi commented.

The centralised factory will provide Hitachi's teams across the world with a unified AI computing infrastructure to run applications and workflows developed on Nvidia's platform, including Nvidia AI Enterprise software.

"This interconnected network will support the creation of a wide range of physical AI applications, driving new levels of efficiency, productivity, and safety across industries," Hitachi said.

The physical AI models will use information sourced from physical environments through cameras and sensors.

Hitachi views the AI factory as an important step towards achieving its Lumada 3.0 operating model vision that aims to combine technical expertise and domain knowledge with AI to convert data into value, while cutting costs and generating efficiencies.