IBM on Tuesday launched a new line of data center chips and servers aimed at improving energy efficiency and helping businesses use artificial intelligence more easily.
The company introduced its Power11 chips, the first major update to its Power chip line since 2020. The new chips will be available starting July 25.
IBM said the Power11 systems are designed for reliability and security, with features that include no need for planned software update downtime and average unplanned downtime of just over 30 seconds per year. The systems can also detect and respond to a ransomware attack within a minute.
The Power systems, which combine hardware and software, compete in data centers with products from Intel and AMD, especially in sectors such as finance, manufacturing, and healthcare.
IBM said it plans to integrate Power11 with its AI chip, Spyre, in the fourth quarter. The goal is to make it easier to use AI for inference, the stage of AI where the system performs tasks, rather than for training models, which remains dominated by companies like Nvidia.
IBM Power systems general manager Tom McPherson said the focus is on helping businesses speed up their processes by embedding AI tools in their operations.
“We can integrate AI capabilities seamlessly into this for inference acceleration,” McPherson said. “It’s not going to have all the horsepower for training, but it will offer strong, easy-to-use inferencing.”
