Wallenberg group buys Nvidia supercomputer for AI development

A group of companies linked to Sweden’s Wallenberg sphere has bought a supercomputer from Nvidia to support new Swedish AI development, SVT reports.

The deal involves Saab, AstraZeneca, SEB, Ericsson and SKF. The computer contains 1,000 of Nvidia’s microchips, which are central to the company’s business. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is visiting Sweden in connection with the deal.

Gunnar Harrius, an economics reporter at Dagens industri, said the companies would use the system to test demanding processes and run complex simulations. Saab could use it for simulations, while AstraZeneca could examine how proteins behave in work on cancer vaccines.

Harrius said Nvidia’s products can handle computationally intensive processes that other companies’ products cannot match. He described the company’s hardware as essential for anyone seeking to compete in the AI race.

Nvidia’s chips were originally developed to improve graphics in computer games. Huang later recognised their potential for AI, Harrius said. The company’s ability to make chips perform multiple tasks at once helped give it an advantage, he added.

Huang is currently on a tour of Europe. Harrius said executives from major Silicon Valley technology companies are increasingly received almost like heads of state when they visit European capitals.