Alibaba Cloud Joins UALink Alliance to Advance Next-Generation GPU Interconnect Technology Standards

Alibaba Cloud Joins UALink Alliance to Advance Next-Generation GPU Interconnect Technology StandardsOn January 16th, the UALink Alliance, an organization focused on AI server chip interconnect technology, announced its updated board of directors, with Alibaba Cloud officially joining as a new member. This marks Alibaba Cloud's collaboration with industry giants like AMD, AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Apple to jointly develop and standardize next-generation GPU interconnect technologies, furthering the advancement of artificial intelligence infrastructure

Alibaba Cloud Joins UALink Alliance to Advance Next-Generation GPU Interconnect Technology Standards

On January 16th, the UALink Alliance, an organization focused on AI server chip interconnect technology, announced its updated board of directors, with Alibaba Cloud officially joining as a new member. This marks Alibaba Cloud's collaboration with industry giants like AMD, AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Apple to jointly develop and standardize next-generation GPU interconnect technologies, furthering the advancement of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Founded in October 2024, the UALink Alliance aims to explore higher-performance and more open AI chip-level interconnect technologies. As a leading global organization for AI ScaleUp interconnects, UALink strives to break down existing technological barriers and build a more open and compatible AI hardware ecosystem. Unlike Nvidia's proprietary NVLink technology, UALink is collaboratively developed by companies across the AI industry chain, establishing a unified, open interconnect standard to meet the urgent need for greater computing power in larger and more complex AI applications.

The UALink 1.0 specification, planned for release in Q1 2025, boasts impressive technical capabilities: supporting interconnectivity for up to 1024 GPUs within a single computing pod and achieving a per-lane data rate of 200Gbps. This will significantly enhance the efficiency and performance of AI computation, laying a solid foundation for the rapid development and widespread adoption of future AI models.

The founding board members of the UALink Alliance include industry leaders such as AMD, AsteraLabs, AWS, Cisco, Google, HPE, Intel, Meta, and Microsoft. The recent addition of Alibaba Cloud, Apple, and Synopsys further strengthens the alliance's research and development capabilities and influence. These new members represent key players across the AI industry chain, encompassing cloud computing, semiconductors, processor IP, software companies, and OEMs.

Kurtis Bowman, Chairman of the UALink Alliance, warmly welcomed Alibaba Cloud's addition, praising Alibaba Cloud's leading position in technology. He believes Alibaba Cloud's deep technical expertise and extensive practical experience will significantly contribute to the development of ScaleUp interconnect specifications that better meet real-world business needs. Bowman also expressed his anticipation for the new members to play a crucial role in advancing the UALink protocol and fostering a thriving industry ecosystem.

Kong Yang, Head of Ultra-High-Speed Interconnect at Alibaba Cloud, stated that as a leading global cloud computing provider and the number one in Asia-Pacific, Alibaba Cloud remains committed to open collaboration and actively promotes the development of AI server ScaleUp interconnect technology to meet the ever-increasing demand for AI computing power and address complex business challenges. Kong also highlighted Alibaba Cloud's self-developed Panjiu AIInfra 2.0 server, known for its open design and ability to support mainstream AI solutions on a unified hardware architecture, achieving "one cloud, multiple chips" innovation in the AI field. This demonstrates Alibaba Cloud's technical prowess and forward-looking strategic vision in AI infrastructure development.

The establishment of the UALink Alliance and Alibaba Cloud's participation hold profound significance for the entire AI industry. It signifies a shift towards a more open, collaborative, and innovative approach to AI development. By establishing a unified, open interconnect standard, the UALink Alliance will effectively reduce the cost of AI hardware development and deployment, promote the widespread adoption of AI technologies, and accelerate the rapid growth of the AI industry.

In the future, as AI models become increasingly complex and large-scale, the demand for computing power will continue to grow. The next-generation GPU interconnect technology developed by the UALink Alliance will be a key technology in meeting this demand. Alibaba Cloud's participation, as a leading global cloud computing provider, will not only enhance its own technological capabilities but also contribute significantly to the global AI industry, enabling AI technologies to better serve societal and economic development.

This collaboration will accelerate the research and application of next-generation GPU interconnect technologies, promote collaborative development across the AI industry chain, and lay a solid foundation for building more powerful AI computing capabilities. Alibaba Cloud's addition will further strengthen the UALink Alliance's global leadership in the AI field and drive greater breakthroughs in standard setting, technological research, and ecosystem development.

Alibaba Cloud has consistently been at the forefront of AI infrastructure development, as exemplified by its independently developed Panjiu AIInfra 2.0 server. This server employs an open architecture, ensuring compatibility with mainstream AI chips and software, significantly improving AI computing efficiency and resource utilization. This allows Alibaba Cloud to provide customers with more flexible and efficient AI computing services, catering to diverse customer needs. Joining the UALink Alliance will enable Alibaba Cloud to better leverage its strengths in AI infrastructure, driving the alliance to develop standards more aligned with real-world applications and promoting the healthy development of the entire AI industry.

Through collaboration with industry leaders such as AMD, AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Apple, Alibaba Cloud will further learn from and apply advanced technologies, enhancing its own technological capabilities. Simultaneously, Alibaba Cloud will share its expertise and technology in AI infrastructure development, working with other members to advance the research and application of next-generation GPU interconnect technologies. This open collaborative model will accelerate technological innovation and promote the rapid development of the entire AI industry.

The success of the UALink Alliance depends on the collective efforts and contributions of all its members. Alibaba Cloud's participation will undoubtedly inject new vitality and momentum, driving the alliance towards greater achievements in the future. In its future development, the UALink Alliance will continue to uphold the principles of open collaboration, working hand in hand with global partners to advance the development and application of AI technologies and contribute to the building of a more intelligent world. This is not only beneficial for Alibaba Cloud's own development but also represents a significant positive contribution to the entire AI industry ecosystem, promoting the widespread adoption of AI technologies and ultimately benefiting all of humanity. Alibaba Cloud's participation infuses new energy and confidence in achieving this goal.

In conclusion, Alibaba Cloud's joining of the UALink Alliance marks a significant milestone in the development of the AI industry. This not only signifies international recognition of Alibaba Cloud's technological prowess in the AI field but also demonstrates Alibaba Cloud's unwavering commitment to advancing AI industry development and building an open and shared AI ecosystem. In the future, Alibaba Cloud will continue to work closely with other members of the UALink Alliance to jointly promote the advancement of next-generation GPU interconnect technologies and contribute to the flourishing development of the artificial intelligence industry. This will have a profound impact on the global AI industry development, promoting the widespread application of AI technologies across various fields.

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