AI networking startups race to replace Nvidia's NVLink

Nvidia's NVLink Fusion technology is drawing attention from rival networking vendors who are rushing to develop alternative interconnects and switches. At the AI Infra Summit, Delos Data and Cornelis Networks joined the competitive race. Scale-up fabrics, such as NVLink, allow multiple GPUs to function as one colossal AI accelerator.

While AMD has adopted protocols like Ultra Accelerator Link for now, purpose-built UALink switches and physical interconnects are not yet available. Cornelis and Delos are working on this challenge from multiple angles, including standardization, software optimization, and hardware development. Cornelis introduced the Active Compute Fabric (ACF) at AI Infra, a standard for open architecture that integrates programmable compute into the fabric.

Delos Data, founded by former Barefoot Networks and Intel executives, will focus on physical layers with new network reference designs, offering a range of connectivity options from co-packaged interconnects to network interface cards (NICs).