Verizon Business has launched AI Connect, an integrated suite of products designed to let businesses deploy generative artificial intelligence (AI) workloads at scale.
Verizon is building its AI ecosystem by repurposing its existing infrastructure assets in its intelligent and programmable network, which consists of fiber, edge networking, and data center assets, along with its metro and long-haul fiber, ILEC and Fios footprint, its metro network build-out, lit and dark fiber services, and 5G network.
Verizon believes that the drive toward real-time decision-making using inferencing will be what drives demand for additional computing power. The company cites a McKinsey report, which states that 60% to 70% of AI workloads are expected to shift to real-time inference by 2030. That will create an urgent need for low-latency connectivity, compute and security at the edge beyond current demand.
“We are seeing significant demand for reliable network infrastructure that can support existing AI workloads,” said Kyle Malady, the CEO of Verizon Business in a statement. “As the technology evolves, our industry leadership, best-in-class edge-to-cloud connectivity, programmable network and assets will enable us to meet these needs and accelerate innovation.”
As part of the announcement, Verizon is partnering with hosting firm Vultr, which offers bare-metal GPU services. Vultr plans to expand its cloud footprint and GPU offerings through Verizon’s connectivity infrastructure.
The service provider will also build on its recent agreement to offer Nvidia’s chipset in its private 5G service to offer on-prem services for enterprise customers. Verizon recently announced plans to integrate Nvidia’s enterprise AI software the Verizon network.
Verizon has made some other key AI infrastructure deals recently including:
Google Cloud: Verizon and Google Cloud have also collaborated on advanced AI solutions for network maintenance and anomaly detection, showcasing the power of AI to optimize network performance and predict potential issues.
Meta: Verizon and Meta have an existing partnership across numerous products, technologies and business units. Verizon AI Connect will expand this partnership into network infrastructure, a differentiator for both companies in helping to build the AI ecosystem.