The project will aid in the deployment of AI models that reflect the regions’ languages and cultures and store the data locally, the companies said in separate Wednesday (June 11) announcements.
The first European models are expected to be launched later this year, according to the announcements.
Nvidia’s technology and partners will provide the AI infrastructure for the project, the chip maker said in a press release. About a dozen model builders and AI consortiums across Europe and the Middle East have teamed up with Nvidia to optimize their AI models using its technology and techniques.
“Together with Europe’s model builders and cloud providers, we’re building an AI ecosystem where intelligence is developed and served locally to provide a foundation for Europe to thrive in the age of AI — transforming every industry across the region,” Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in the release.
Perplexity said in a Wednesday blog post that it will integrate sovereign European AI models into its answer engine to deliver “locally-optimized, culturally-aware AI” to users and support Europe’s digital sovereignty initiatives.
These models will provide insights that incorporate European languages, cultural contexts and local knowledge, according to the post. In addition, because they will run on European AI infrastructure from Nvidia Cloud Partners, their data will stay in Europe.
“This is just the beginning of a new era in AI — one where global platforms can seamlessly integrate locally-optimized intelligence to serve users better,” Perplexity said in its post.
It was reported in May that Nvidia was working to lessen its dependency on Big Tech by forging new partnerships to sell AI to national governments, corporations and challengers to companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft.
These sovereign AI deals make up a key part of Nvidia’s strategy of attracting customers beyond Silicon Valley, the Financial Times reported May 18.
In March, it was reported that more than 90 European technology companies and industry groups appealed to the European Commission to establish a sovereign infrastructure fund dedicated to advancing investments in cutting-edge technologies.
The coalition said there was a pressing need for Europe to assert greater control over its critical digital infrastructure, including software applications, AI frameworks and hardware components.
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