Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to build one of the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence supercomputers, dubbed “Project Rainer”. In collaboration with Anthropic, an OpenAI rival, the project aims to push the boundaries of what is possible with AI. The supercomputer will be five times larger than the current cluster used by Anthropic and feature hundreds of thousands of Amazon’s latest AI training chip, Trainium 2.
CEO Matt Garman revealed the plans at AWS’ Re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, alongside other announcements that solidify Amazon’s growing presence in generative AI. The new supercomputer is expected to be the largest reported AI machine in the world when completed.
To support the development of this massive AI system, Amazon will make Trainium 2, its latest AI training chip, available in specialized clusters called Trn2 UltraServer. These clusters are up to 30-40% cheaper than those featuring Nvidia’s GPUs, making them more accessible to companies building custom AI models.
Amazon has poured $8 billion into Anthropic this year and has been quietly developing tools through its AWS platform called Bedrock to help companies harness generative AI. The company also showcased its next-generation training chip, Trainium 3, which offers four times the performance of its current chip. Trainium 3 is expected to be available in late 2025.
Industry analysts predict that Amazon’s innovation will disrupt the AI training landscape, with Nvidia facing increasing competition in the coming years. Amazon’s new tools and services aim to make generative AI more affordable and reliable, including a system for managing hundreds of different AI agents and a tool providing proof that chatbot outputs are correct.
Amazon’s CEO Garman emphasized that companies are primarily interested in using generative AI to improve their operations rather than pushing the boundaries of what is possible. The company has introduced new services such as Model Distillation and Bedrock Agents, which enable businesses to build more sophisticated applications and services incorporating autonomous agents and logical reasoning.
These advancements demonstrate Amazon’s commitment to making generative AI more accessible and reliable, and its growing position as a leader in the field.
Source: https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-reinvent-anthropic-supercomputer