Oracle, under the leadership of founder and chairman Larry Ellison, is allocating “billions” of dollars to procure chips from Nvidia as part of its efforts to expand its cloud computing service specifically tailored for the growing wave of artificial intelligence (AI) companies. Oracle’s cloud division aims to gain ground in the competitive landscape, challenging major rivals like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft.
To gain a competitive advantage, Oracle has prioritized the development of high-speed networks capable of efficiently processing vast amounts of data required for AI systems, similar to ChatGPT. In line with this strategy, Oracle is purchasing significant quantities of graphics processing units (GPUs) optimized for AI workloads to crunch and analyze data.
Ellison revealed that Oracle is not only investing “billions” of dollars in Nvidia chips but also substantial amounts in central processing units (CPUs) from Ampere Computing, a chip startup in which Oracle has made investments, and AMD. Speaking at an Ampere event, Ellison stated, “This year, Oracle will buy GPUs and CPUs from three companies. We will buy GPUs from Nvidia, and we’re buying billions of dollars of those. We will spend three times that on CPUs from Ampere and AMD. We still spend more money on conventional compute.”
In a recent announcement, Oracle disclosed its partnership with Cohere, an AI startup founded by former Google engineers. As part of the agreement, Cohere will provide its AI software, running on supercomputers equipped with up to 16,000 Nvidia chips each, within Oracle’s data centers.
CoreWeave, another company targeting AI companies with cloud hardware heavily reliant on Nvidia chips, has also attracted attention. Earlier this year, CoreWeave secured fresh funding amounting to $200 million.
With its substantial investment in Nvidia chips, Oracle aims to strengthen its cloud computing service, bolster its AI capabilities, and compete more effectively in the AI market. The company’s commitment to delivering powerful AI infrastructure demonstrates its dedication to meeting the evolving needs of AI-driven enterprises.
