Stepping into the AI game is uneasy. It requires limitless efforts and a considerable investment in infrastructure and talents, which can be challenging to newcomers such as SMEs and ambitious startups. However, the advent of GPU cloud computing is revolutionizing the AI initiative as it democratizes access to necessary computational resources for AI training without spending a fortune on GPU infrastructure. 

By taking advantage of GPU cloud computing, businesses can save up to millions of dollars, reduce costs, shorten time-to-market and enjoy a variety of other compelling benefits that will please their stakeholders. 

Traditionally, businesses will seek feature-rich cloud computing infrastructure and services from “hyper scalers” – tech giants like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. These global leaders have a global network of data centers, providing instant access to a vast array of GPU-accelerated instances, including the latest NVIDIA GPUs, such as H100 on a pay-as-you-go basis.  

However, the services of hyper scalers come with a hefty price tag, even though their infrastructures may not follow the latest NVIDIA Reference Architecture for optimal AI training and fine-tuning. An instance equipped with eight NVIDIA H100 GPUs can command an hourly rate of $50 to $150, depending on the provider. Continuous 24/7 operation for a month translates to a bill ranging from $36,000 to a jaw-dropping $108,000, excluding additional data storage, networking, security, and backup charges. These costs can quickly add up, presenting a significant financial burden for businesses operating on tighter budgets and sustained training. 

The extensive pricing should be considered as deep water for businesses while the training cost for generative AI models is skyrocketing through billion to trillion parameters. Asian AI businesses increasingly seek affordable and flexible price tags by teaming with regional NVIDIA Cloud Partners (NCPs), which are appealing alternatives offering more responsive assistance. These GPU cloud computing providers often have the ability to tailor their offerings and pricing to unique training needs. 

Consider GreenNode, the leading Southeast Asia NCP, which offers AI Cloud Platform for multiple-node training and fine-tuning services on NVIDIA H100 cluster for as little as $3.89 per hour; this rate is undoubtedly more economical for those pursuing long-term model training, and their clients can deploy necessary computational resources in few simple clicks. The company also has a stronger focus on data sovereignty and security compliance thanks to its extensive experience with large-scale cloud products and world-class cybersecurity skills. 

“Accessing high-demand resources like NVIDIA H100 GPUs was difficult for an AI startup. Partnering with GreenNode has helped us overcome this challenge as we have instant access to H100 GPUs and be able to scale our H100 GPU infrastructure quickly. This enables us to continually fine-tune our model and thus enhance our AI agent product to meet the market demand and adoption. Their flexible payment terms are also crucial in keeping our costs and cashflow manageable. Last but not least, we appreciate their speedy technical support when we want to upgrade the Internet bandwidth or need to have a shared filesystem for our dataset.” – Div Garg, Co-Founder and CEO at MultiOn. 

The Asia-Pacific AI landscape is likely to get much more exciting. Regional NCPs like GreenNode are driving a surge in innovation, allowing firms to develop and implement AI solutions more quickly and affordably. Let’s delve into a new era of AI-powered growth and advancement at GreenNode booth in the Big Data & AI World exhibition on Singapore Tech Week (9-10 October 2024).