Isambard-3 (supercomputer)

2023: Britain allocates $1.1 billion to build Isambard-3 supercomputer for AI development

On September 13, 2023, the British authorities announced the allocation of £900 million (approximately $1.1 billion at the exchange rate as of September 15, 2023) to create a powerful Isambard-3 supercomputer designed to solve resource-intensive problems in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The computing complex will be located at the University of Bristol. A new high-performance computing center AI Research Resource (AIRR) will open on the territory of this institution, whose specialists will focus on research in the AI field. It is known that the supercomputer will include thousands of modern accelerators based on GPUs. Performance indicators as of mid-September 2023 were not disclosed. But it is noted that Isambard-3 will become the most powerful computing complex in Britain and one of the most powerful in Europe.

The authorities will allocate £900 million to create a powerful supercomputer Isambard-3

The project is led by Bristol-based experts Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith and Dr Sadaf Alam with their HPC team. The initiative is being implemented with the support of a group of GW4 - an alliance of universities in Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter.

Isambard-3 is expected to be a "catalyst for scientific discovery" and will allow Britain to remain at the forefront of the development of artificial intelligence systems. The complex is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a British engineer who made a significant contribution to the Industrial Revolution. His pioneering developments, including the famous Bristol Suspension Bridge, transformed Britain and had a significant impact on the development of the transport and construction industries. It is planned to put a new supercomputer into operation in 2024.^[1]

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