Intel names Baidu as an AI development partner

Intel confirmed that it is collaborating with Baidu on development of the new Intel Nervana Neural Network Processor for Training (NNP-T). The collaboration involves the hardware and software designs of the new custom accelerator with one purpose – training deep learning models at lightning speed.

Since 2016, Intel has been optimizing Baidu’s PaddlePaddle deep learning framework for Intel® Xeon Scalable processors. Now, the companies give data scientists more hardware choice by optimizing the NNP-T for PaddlePaddle.

"The next few years will see an explosion in the complexity of AI models and the need for massive deep learning compute at scale. Intel and Baidu are focusing their decade-long collaboration on building radical new hardware, co-designed with enabling software, that will evolve with this new reality – something we call ‘AI 2.0,"  stated Naveen Rao, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the AI Products Group.