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Empire AI launches "Beta," one of the most powerful academic AI supercomputers in the nation

New NVIDIA-Powered System Marks Major Milestone in Empire AI’s Mission to Lead Responsible, Scalable AI for the Public Good

$40M Investment Will Enhance Empire AI Computing Power 11-Fold & Among First Academic Deployments of NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX GB200 Systems

Empire AI today announced the launch of Beta, a groundbreaking AI supercomputing system built on NVIDIA’s cutting-edge Blackwell platform—marking a transformative leap forward in Empire AI’s mission to advance research for the public good. The $40 million system is expected to be among the nation’s first academic deployments of the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX GB200 systems, and dramatically increases Empire AI’s capabilities, giving New York researchers one of the most powerful academic AI computing infrastructures in the United States.

“The launch of Empire AI’s beta marks an exciting leap forward—not just for New York’s academic institutions, but for our commitment to harnessing artificial intelligence for the public good,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.“This powerful new supercomputer will help researchers unlock breakthroughs in everything from health care to climate to education, ensuring New York remains on the cutting edge while putting people, ethics, and equity at the center of innovation.”

“With the launch of Beta, Empire AI is unleashing a game-changing level of computational power to serve researchers across New York,” said Empire AI Interim Executive Director Robert Harrison. “From cancer diagnostics to climate modeling, this system will accelerate innovation across fields—while putting New York at the forefront of responsible AI development. Thanks to the vision of Governor Hochul and our expanding roster of top-tier academic partners, we are building a public AI research powerhouse designed to benefit everyone.”

This milestone follows Governor Kathy Hochul’s continued commitment to Empire AI, including a recent $90 million investment through the FY26 Enacted Budget to expand computing power, bring in new consortium members, and solidify New York’s role as a national leader in safe, equitable, and innovative AI.

Empire AI, launched by Governor Hochul in 2024, is a first-in-the-nation consortium of public and private research institutions advancing AI research for the public good and to benefit every corner of New York. By increasing collaboration between New York State’s world-class research institutions, Empire AI is creating efficiencies of scale not able to be achieved by any single university, promoting responsible research and development, and unlocking AI opportunities focused on public good.

Supercharged for the Public Good

Beta will deliver an 11-fold increase in AI training, 40-fold boost in AI inference, and an 8-fold expansion in data storage compared to the initial Alpha system launched by Governor Hochul in 2024. Key technical features of the new system include:

  • An NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX GB200 systems featuring 288 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs for AI applications;
  • 60 nodes with NVIDIA Grace CPU Superchips for HPC and data processing;
  • NVIDIA AI software including NVIDIA AI Enterprise and NVIDIA Mission Control to streamline the development of production-grade AI applications while automating infrastructure operations;
  • 20+ Petabytes powered by the VAST Data AI Operating System; and,
  • 10+ petabytes infrastructure from DDN’s data intelligence platform solutions.

Public-Private Partnerships Powering the Future

“AI and accelerated computing are fueling a new era of discovery — one that will shape the next generation of scientists and scholars,” said Charlie Boyle, vice president of DGX platforms, NVIDIA. “With its NVIDIA Grace Blackwell supercomputer, Empire AI will provide New York’s academic and research community with high performance infrastructure to drive breakthroughs across science, medicine and technology.”

“VAST Data is proud to support Empire AI in building one of the most advanced academic AI infrastructures in the country,” said Chris Ginder, Head of Americas Higher Education & Research at VAST Data. “We work with nearly all of the top R1 universities across the U.S., and it’s inspiring to see the State of New York take such a bold step in democratizing AI research. Through our deep partnership with NVIDIA and our disaggregated, unified data platform that consolidates performance, capacity, and access into a single global data space – researchers state-wide are gaining fast, consistent access to massive datasets, enabling breakthrough discoveries in AI, science, and medicine, all while eliminating the traditional complexity of managing AI at scale.”

“World Wide Technology is proud to partner with the State of New York, Empire AI, and its founding institutions in their shared mission to democratize access to advanced AI infrastructure,” said Shawn Rodrigues, Vice President of US Public Sector-State and Local Government and Education at WWT. “It is truly a unique model that will set a standard for responsible AI investment between state government, research institutions, and the private sector. Through our partnership with NVIDIA, and by leveraging our AI Proving Ground, we will collaboratively do our part to facilitate researchers with the tools and resources necessary to drive AI innovation for delivering impactful constituent outcomes.”

Expanding the Empire AI Consortium

New Empire AI members include the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, joining founding members SUNY, CUNY, Columbia University, Cornell University, NYU, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the Flatiron Institute. This expansion further strengthens Empire AI’s collaborative model—creating efficiencies of scale and enabling cross-institutional breakthroughs not possible at individual universities.

The new Beta system builds on the successful 2024 launch of Alpha, which was made possible by the philanthropic support from the Simons Foundation. Empire AI’s permanent supercomputing center at SUNY’s University at Buffalo remains on schedule for completion in 2026. With more than 250 researchers and over 85 projects already underway, Empire AI is driving real-world progress in healthcare, climate resilience, cybersecurity, education, and more.