{
  "id": 561746,
  "title": "IBM, Together AI ink $240 million deal for Nvidia-powered AI inference cluster",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/ibm-together-ai-ink-240-million-deal-for-nvidia-powered-ai-inference",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-11T12:02:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Channel News Asia",
    "slug": "channel-news-asia",
    "url": "https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/ibm-together-ai-ink-240-million-deal-nvidia-powered-ai-inference-cluster-6312206"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "IBM and Together AI have signed a multi-year deal worth $240 million to construct a large-scale AI cluster on IBM Cloud utilizing Nvidia systems, the companies announced on Tuesday. This cluster will offer inference services for open-source AI models, which have emerged as a cost-saving alternative for businesses concerned about cybersecurity risks associated with models from companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta. Inference, the process of executing trained AI models to produce responses, has emerged as a significant catalyst for demand in computing resources, prompting cloud service providers and chip manufacturers to invest heavily in expanding AI infrastructure. The cluster on IBM Cloud will leverage Nvidia's HGX B300 systems, which incorporate the company's latest Blackwell processors, and its Spectrum-X Ethernet networking equipment. Nvidia has indicated that the Blackwell chips are specifically engineered for AI inference tasks. Together AI, based in San Francisco, provides a platform that enables businesses to train and deploy AI workloads on open models such as DeepSeek, MiniMax, and Kimi at reduced costs compared to proprietary systems. The startup was last valued at $8.3 billion in July.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "IBM and Together AI sign $240M deal for AI cluster",
    "Cluster on IBM Cloud uses Nvidia HGX B300 systems",
    "Focus on open-source AI models for inference services"
  ],
  "editors_take": "This deal signals a strategic shift towards open-source AI models as businesses seek cost-saving alternatives while mitigating cybersecurity risks associated with proprietary models from major AI companies.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "title": "IBM, Together AI ink $240 million deal for Nvidia-powered AI inference cluster",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/ibm-together-ai-ink-240-million-deal-for-nvidia-powered-ai-inference-565549",
        "published": "2026-08-11T12:02:37.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "IBM, Together AI ink $240 million deal for Nvidia-powered AI inference cluster",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/ibm-together-ai-ink-240-million-deal-for-nvidia-powered-ai-inference-566928",
        "published": "2026-08-11T12:13:48.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Quartz",
        "title": "IBM and Together AI signed a $240 million open-source AI inference deal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/ibm-and-together-ai-signed-a-240-million-open-source-ai-inference-deal",
        "published": "2026-08-11T13:50:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}