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NVIDIA debuts supercomputer for healthcare and AI research

By Brian Buntz | July 6, 2021

NVidiaSanta Clara, Calif.–based NVIDIA has launched the Cambridge-1, which it hails as “the United Kingdom’s most powerful supercomputer.”

Developed with healthcare applications in mind, NVIDIA invested some $100 million in the supercomputer.

Initial applications of the Cambridge-1 include using AI to improve drug development, explore the causes of dementia and identify genomic-based disease risk factors.

Early users of the Cambridge-1 include AstraZeneca (LON:AZN), GSK (NYSE:GSK), Oxford Nanopore, King’s College London, St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

AstraZeneca’s focus of the computer will be on creating an open-source transformer-based generative AI model for chemical structures. The model can be used to predict chemical reactions, optimize molecules and generate de novo molecules.

AstraZeneca and NVIDIA are also teaming up to use Cambridge-1 to facilitate digital pathology to accelerate the process of annotating whole slide tissue sample images.

Cambridge-1 supercomputer from NVIDIA

Cambridge-1 supercomputer from NVIDIA

GSK plans to use the computer to genetically validate targets for drug development. GSK has already made significant investments in AI and genomics. The company expects Cambridge-1 to add additional computational horsepower to its drug discovery efforts.

Cambridge-1 uses NVIDIA’s DGX A100 SuperPOD technology, which is also present in the company’s Selene supercomputer, which the Top 500 rankings of supercomputers ranked as the sixth fastest.

The Cambridge-1 draws its power from entirely renewable sources.

“The discoveries developed on Cambridge-1 will take shape in the U.K., but the impact will be global, driving groundbreaking research that has the potential to benefit millions around the world,” said NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang in a statement.


Filed Under: Drug Discovery, Drug Discovery and Development
Tagged With: AstraZeneca, AstraZeneca plc, Cambridge-1, DGX A100 SuperPOD, digital pathology, GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, NVIDIA, supercomputer
 

About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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