Sber's GigaChat AI to Run on Chinese Chips Instead of NVIDIA
Sber CEO Herman Gref said the bank is counting on Chinese processors for its GigaChat AI model. The move is driven by Western sanctions, which have made it harder to buy advanced hardware. According to Gref, Sber is in line behind ByteDance and Alibaba.
AI-processed from 3DNews AI; edited by Hamidun News
Sber's GigaChat neural network will be developed on Chinese processors, Sber CEO Herman Gref announced. He made the statement on federal television during the Russian president's two-day visit to Beijing. The announcement comes amid a chronic shortage of imported hardware caused by Western sanctions, which have restricted access to US and European technology.
How does AI development in Russia depend on access to chips?
Cutting-edge NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs are essential for training and deploying powerful neural networks. Western sanctions cut Russia off from direct access to this hardware, so companies have to look for alternatives in countries that have not joined the restrictions.
What is GigaChat and why does it need new chips?
GigaChat is a text-based neural network (LLM) that Sber built as a competitor to ChatGPT and DeepSeek. Developing it further and improving its quality requires powerful processors, and sanctions have made those hard to get.
Why is
Sber switching to Chinese chips for its neural network? Western sanctions have restricted access to advanced NVIDIA GPUs, so Sber is looking for an alternative to keep developing GigaChat.
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Key Questions Answered
How does AI development in Russia depend on access to chips?
Cutting-edge NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs are essential for training and deploying powerful neural networks. Western sanctions cut Russia off from direct access to this hardware, so companies have to look for alternatives in countries that have not joined the restrictions.
What is GigaChat and why does it need new chips?
GigaChat is a text-based neural network (LLM) that Sber built as a competitor to ChatGPT and DeepSeek. Developing it further and improving its quality requires powerful processors, and sanctions have made those hard to get.
Why is Sber switching to Chinese chips for its neural network?
Western sanctions have restricted access to advanced NVIDIA GPUs, so Sber is looking for an alternative to keep developing GigaChat.
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