Georgia Tech, Emory invest more than $1 billion in AI

Two major universities in Georgia are investing more than $1 billion in artificial intelligence.

Georgia Tech and Emory University have plans to expand computing power, prepare students for the evolving workforce and advance research in Georgia.

Emory plans to dedicate around $600 million while Georgia Tech plans an investment of $575 million.

Georgia Tech’s Interim President Tim Lieuwen said the investment will bring innovation to Georgia.

“This machine is going to allow us to develop better cures for cancer. It’s going to allow us to develop better robots to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States,” Lieuwen said.

Georgia Tech’s investment includes Nexus, a new AI supercomputer designed to help researchers tackle larger and more complex projects. 

Georgia Tech also announced that it is opening access to Nexus to the broader scientific community. At least 90% of its computing capacity will be available to the national science and engineering community through a peer-reviewed application process.

Nexus is housed at Georgia Tech’s Coda data center in Atlanta and is the first national academic supercomputer the university has hosted. It is supported by a $20 million National Science Foundation investment and will support the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, an NSF-led effort to expand access to AI research tools.

In addition, Georgia Tech’s investment includes a campuswide computing platform and advanced computing infrastructure in Tech Square.

More than half of Emory’s investment has gone toward recruiting and retaining talent in Atlanta while the remaining funds will go towards research, such as applications of AI in medicine, business, law, the humanities and ethics.

The two universities plan to collaborate on research, workforce development and projects with industry partners.

Lieuwen said the goal is to make Georgia a leading technology hub in the nation.