Chip giant Nvidia is showing off a new AI computer, a series of new GPUs and ‘world models’ for AI during its CES keynote in Las Vegas.
Nvidia will no longer just make the chips that will help shape the world’s AI, as the chipmaker will also launch personal supercomputers. This is what Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, announced during a press conference organized at the start of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The device, called Digits, is the size of a desktop computer and resembles, in design, a Mac Mini. However, it is equipped with a GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip. This should allow you to run sophisticated AI models at home on your desk with, perhaps also and above all, power coming from the normal electricity network. The system accepts models with up to 200 billion parameters, but this comes at a cost, since prices for the device start at $3,000. “Project Digits is bringing the Grace Blackwell Superchip to millions of developers,” said Jensen Huang. ‘By placing an AI supercomputer on the desk of every AI data scientist, researcher and student, we are giving them the opportunity to help shape the AI era.’
The device packs 128GB of memory and up to 4TB of NvMe storage capacity. If you want even more power, you can connect two together to run models with up to 405 billion parameters. For comparison, this matches the settings of Llama 3.1, Meta’s latest AI model.
Gaming Chips and Global Models
In addition to the supercomputer, Nvidia is also announcing something new for its traditional customers, gamers. This is how Huang presents a new generation of its gaming chips, the RTX 50 series, in Las Vegas. These graphics cards leverage Nvidia’s Blackwell AI technology to transfer cinematic images to the computer screen. They cost between $549 and $1,999. Notice to enthusiasts: the flagship product, the RTX 5090 offered at $1,999, integrates 92 billion transistors, 4,000 AT TOPS, 380 TFLOPS ray-tracing and 1.8 TB/s of bandwidth. Starting in March, you will also be able to buy laptops incorporating these GPUs, including from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI and Razer.
In addition to the new chip and supercomputer, Nvidia also revealed plans in Vegas to manufacture its own global models. These are AI models inspired by the mental models people have of the world around them. The firm will make available a series of these world models, the Cosmos World Foundation Models, capable of generating realistic environments. The goal is that researchers and developers can use them to simulate, for example, a factory workshop, where they can train the artificial intelligence of an autonomous forklift among other things.
