Europe Unveils JUPITER: A New Era in AI Supercomputing

Introduction

Europe has entered a new phase of computational capability with the launch of JUPITER, its first exascale AI supercomputer. Located at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC) in Germany, JUPITER is a significant step forward in high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) for the continent.

Technological Backbone

JUPITER's performance is driven by Nvidia's Grace Hopper platform, featuring nearly 24,000 GH200 Grace Hopper Superchips. This setup is expected to deliver over 90 exaflops of AI performance and one exaflop for traditional HPC tasks, enabling it to perform one quintillion floating-point operations per second.

For AI-specific tasks, JUPITER's capabilities are even more pronounced, potentially exceeding 70 exaflops. This power allows for the training of large AI models, such as those with 100 billion parameters, in less than a week. The system uses Nvidia's Quantum-2 InfiniBand for high-speed data transfer and a comprehensive suite of Nvidia software for optimized performance.

Applications and Impact

JUPITER is set to address critical global challenges across various domains. In climate science, it will facilitate high-resolution simulations and contribute to projects like the Earth Virtualization Engines, which aim to create a digital twin of Earth. In the biomedical field, JUPITER will accelerate AI model development for drug discovery using Nvidia's BioNeMo platform.

The supercomputer will also support quantum computing research and other areas such as computational engineering, astrophysics, and sustainable energy development. As an "AI Factory," JUPITER will allow users to fine-tune AI models for new tasks via its cloud infrastructure.

Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

JUPITER is not only powerful but also energy-efficient, achieving over 60 gigaflops per watt. This efficiency is due to Eviden's BullSequana XH3000 liquid-cooled architecture and a warm water-cooling system that repurposes waste heat for campus heating. The development system, JEDI, has topped the Green500 list for energy-efficient supercomputers.

Collaborative Effort

The JUPITER project is a collaborative initiative owned by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and co-funded by the European Union and Germany. Developed with partners like Eviden and ParTec, JUPITER aims to enhance Europe's technological sovereignty and competitiveness in supercomputing and AI.

Conclusion

As JUPITER becomes fully operational, it is expected to be a catalyst for scientific discovery and innovation, providing researchers across Europe with unprecedented computational resources. Competitions like the Gauss AI Compute Competition will leverage JUPITER's capabilities to foster AI advancements and societal impact.