TLDR
- Elon Musk has started up a powerful AI training cluster called Memphis Supercluster
- The system uses 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs connected on a single fabric
- Musk aims to create “the world’s most powerful AI” by December 2024
- Tesla plans to use humanoid robots in its factories starting next year
- Tesla’s profits dropped by nearly half in the recent quarter due to weakening demand for its cars
Elon Musk, the well-known tech entrepreneur, is making big moves in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. His companies are working on projects that could change how we think about computers and work.
Musk recently announced the start of a new AI training system called the Memphis Supercluster. This powerful computer setup uses 100,000 Nvidia H100 graphics processing units (GPUs) all connected together.
Nice work by @xAI team, @X team, @Nvidia & supporting companies getting Memphis Supercluster training started at ~4:20am local time.
With 100k liquid-cooled H100s on a single RDMA fabric, it’s the most powerful AI training cluster in the world!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2024
GPUs are special computer chips that are good at handling the complex math needed for AI.
The goal of this supercomputer is to create what Musk calls “the world’s most powerful AI” by December 2024. This AI system, named Grok 3, is being trained to understand and respond to human language in advanced ways.
The Memphis Supercluster is impressive because of its size. It has more GPUs than some of the world’s top supercomputers. For example, the Frontier supercomputer has about 37,888 GPUs, while Microsoft’s Eagle has 14,400 Nvidia H100 GPUs.
Musk’s company xAI is behind this project. They decided to use current GPUs instead of waiting for newer ones that might come out later. This choice shows that Musk wants to move quickly in the AI field.
Come help xAI route photons as a elite fiber tech in Memphis! pic.twitter.com/JJShV75May
— xAI (@xai) July 15, 2024
While Musk is pushing ahead with AI, his car company Tesla is also working on robots. Tesla plans to start using humanoid robots in its factories next year. These robots, called Optimus, are designed to do jobs that might be unsafe, boring, or repetitive for humans.
Musk hopes Tesla will be able to sell these robots to other companies by 2026. He has said before that he wants these robots to cost less than $20,000 each and be mass-produced.
The idea of using robots in factories isn’t new, but Tesla’s plan for humanoid robots that can do many different tasks is ambitious. Other companies like Honda and Boston Dynamics are also working on similar robots.
These big tech projects come at a time when Tesla is facing some challenges. The company’s recent financial report showed that its profits dropped by nearly half compared to the same time last year. This drop is mainly because fewer people are buying Tesla’s electric cars.
To deal with this, Tesla is trying to cut costs across the company. They’ve lowered car prices and offered other deals to try to attract more buyers. Despite the drop in car sales, Tesla’s overall revenue went up a little bit thanks to growth in its energy storage business.
Musk is known for setting big goals and ambitious timelines for his companies. Sometimes these goals are met, and sometimes they’re delayed. For example, his prediction about self-driving Tesla taxis by 2020 didn’t come true on time.
