NVIDIA and a consortium of Thai universities have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on driving research and accelerating scientific breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) and high performance computing (HPC).
The partnership will help spur Thailand towards its aim to create a world class infrastructure to support AI and HPC research to address national challenges such as in healthcare.
Under the MoU, NVIDIA will collaborate with the National Science Technology and Development Agency and a consortium of universities – Chulalongkorn University, CMKL University, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Khon Kaen University, Mahidol University, and Prince of Songkla University.
First in SEA
Thailand has become the first in Southeast Asia’s first country to be part of NVIDIA’s AI Nations initiative, a worldwide programme that helps government leaders and stakeholders develop plans to implement AI to advance national priorities and drive economic growth.
NVIDIA will assist the research institutions and universities with continuous development of the National AI Strategy and AI Compute approach from cloud to edge. It will also provide support through the NVIDIA Inception Program, a virtual incubator for startups; NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute, which provides hands-on and remote AI training; NVIDIA’s AI Tech Center, for joint applied AI research; and NVIDIA partner ecosystem, to accelerate applications that can be adopted by the Thai government.
Through the collaboration, the consortium will be engaged in NVIDIA AI Nations partnerships, support the adoption of NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platforms, and explore the potential of connecting NVIDIA DGX AI supercomputers across Thailand to function as a more powerful virtualised AI supercomputer capable of solving even more complex problems.
Other potential collaborations include advancing Thailand’s Smart Cities initiative by leveraging NVIDIA’s DGX, EGX, Metropolis and Clara Guardian platforms; and utilizing partner ecosystems to improve the quality of urban life, protect the health of citizens and support the re-activation of business in a post-COVID age.
The partners may also introduce a national AI skills development initiative delivered through the universities to cultivate the next generation of AI leaders in Thailand
Golden Opportunity for Thai Researchers and Startups
“This collaboration will help our country to become more powerful and develop at a much faster pace than ever before. This cooperation between the leading Thai and international researchers, and the support and participation of many leading private companies and institutions, is no doubt a golden opportunity for the Thai researchers and startups to move onto the world stage and create commercial values to the Thai digital economy,” said Associate Professor Dr Siree Chaiseri, director, Program Management Unit for Competitiveness, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
“AI can greatly transform many industries. It can make our transportation systems safer and more efficient, aid in breakthrough scientific discoveries, and help medical professionals provide better care for more people. Being the first in Southeast Asia to be part of NVIDIA’s AI Nations initiative shows the country’s vision and desire to excel in the AI era. As the leader in AI, NVIDIA will do our part to help the nation achieve its goal of having a world-class infrastructure for researchers and nurture a new generation of IT talents,” said Keith Strier, World Wide Vice President for NVIDIA AI Nations Initiatives.
Entelechy Asia 