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Taiwanese company Asustek Computer (known as “Asus”) plans to introduce a rental commercial AI server that will run on-premises to address security and awareness issues of cloud-based AI systems, Bloomberg reports. The service, called AFS Appliance, features Nvidia chips and runs an AI language style called “Formosa” that Asus says is equivalent to OpenAI’s GPT-3. 5.
Asus expects to offer the service at around $6,000 per month, according to Bloomberg’s interview with Asus Cloud and TWS President Peter Wu. The most resilient server, based on an Nvidia DGX AI platform, will charge around $10,000 per month. it will be powered through Nvidia’s A100 GPUs and will be owned by Asus. The company expects to offer the service to between 30 and 50 corporate users in Taiwan initially and then expand worldwide later in 2023.
“Nvidia is our partner to drive this generation’s adoption across enterprises,” Wu told Bloomberg. “Before ChatGPT, corporations didn’t know why they needed so much computing power. “
According to Asus, the Formosa Foundation Model that will run on the AFS device is a giant language style that generates text with classical Chinese semantics. It evolved through TWS, a subsidiary of Asustek. Like ChatGPT, it will offer AI-powered text generation. and coding capabilities.
As interest in generative AI facilities grows, so do considerations about the sensitivity of knowledge. Lately, many primary generative AI facilities are operated through online knowledge centers, which could expose sensitive information. code to the platform. Apple also recently banned its workers from using external AI equipment that can leak knowledge to competitors.
To address corporate privacy considerations, Microsoft announced plans in May to release an isolated, privacy-focused edition of ChatGPT that would target giant organizations (such as banks and hospitals) with greater considerations on knowledge leakage and regulatory compliance, but the servers would remain in Microsoft’s knowledge centers. Instead, the AFS device will be installed directly at the customer’s premises.
Despite the developing demand for educational AI chips, Bloomberg reports that corporations like Asus hope to secure a market share by providing “holistic AI systems” that provide a complete AI solution across a suite of services. Asus says its existing partnership with Nvidia ensures there’s no shortage of Nvidia chips when deploying the AFS Appliance service.
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