Chip service that suits all needs

GPUaaS makes an expensive piece of computing technology available to the wider world, reports ASHUTOSH MISHRA

Krutrim, the homegrown artificial intelligence startup, early in May introduced graphics processing unit as a-service (GPUaaS) for enterprises and developers to train their AI systems.

A GPU is a specialised computer chip that renders graphics and images by performing rapid mathematical calculations needed in AI processing. Demand for GPUaaS is expected to grow manifold as startups offer generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) the core software of AI - products.

GPUaaS lets businesses use the expensive chips as needed, paying only for what they use. It is a flexible solution to avail of GPU and economical because businesses can avoid investing in hardware.

"The vision is to enable developers to do cutting-edge innovation.

The platforms or tools that developers need are computing and services and that is what we have opened up. For instance, we have launched GPU-as-a-service, model-as-a-service, and location services for developers," said Ravi Jain, head of strategy at Krutrim, which translates to "artificial" in Sanskrit.

GPUaaS is not new but has gained traction in the past few years as GenAI booms. "...(a) GPUaaS platform accelerates tasks like deep learning and rendering, and streamlines GPU resource management by automating allocation, scaling, and maintenance processes. Manually managing these tasks, especially at scale, can be complex and time-consuming," said Rashid Khan, chief product officer and co-founder of Yellow.ai, a customer service automation platform.

There were 18 GenAI startups in India in 2021 and more than doubled to 60 as of the first quarter 2023, according to a Nasscom report, highlighting the demand for GPU-enabled computing infrastructure in the country.