NVIDIA and Baidu will collaborate on A.I.-powered technology spread across a few different markets. These markets include cloud computing, specifically cloud data centers, as well as self-driving cars, and digital home assistants which are based on artificial intelligence. The partnership looks entirely focused on the Chinese market and will include adding Baidu’s conversational AI system called DuerOS to NVIDIA SHIELD TV units in the country. The addition of DuerOS to these units will allow Chinese consumers to interact with the NVIDIA SHIELD TV though voice commands instead of having to input commands by using the controller or remote.
In a less consumer-facing approach Baidu will look to offer customers of its cloud service, named Baidu Cloud, what is likely a more robust and powerful product thanks to the inclusion of NVIDIA’s Volta graphics processing units inside of the hardware in Baidu’s cloud data centers. This will include two GPU accelerators – the Tesla Volta V100 and the Tesla P4, which aim to open up a whole new world of cloud computing power to Baidu Cloud’s existing customers. The two above-mentioned GPU accelerators will pair with NVIDIA’s TensorRT deep learning inference and Baidu’s PaddlePaddle deep learning framework to offer enhanced understanding of images, text, and video in real-time. NVIDIA says that working with Baidu to use its Volta GPU architecture to power Baidu Cloud will allow the two companies to further the advancement of A.I. research and development.
The last area of the partnership revolves around Baidu’s self-driving car efforts and will see Baidu utilize NVIDIA’s Drive PX 2 A.I.-powered super computer inside of its autonomous vehicles. The Drive PX 2 will be joined by the use of NVIDIA’s TensorRT deep learning inference and NVIDIA’s Tesla GPUs, all of which are part of an initiative that NVIDIA and Baidu are referring to as the Apollo Alliance, though the two companies won’t be alone as NVIDIA states that a number of Chinese automakers such as Chery Automobile, Great Wall Motor, FAW, and Changan have all agreed to be part of the alliance as well. While the self-driving car and cloud computing efforts won’t do much for the consumer directly, the integration of DuerOS in NVIDIA’s SHIELD TV units should be especially exciting for Chinese consumers who already have the device hooked up in the home. This is Baidu’s second partnership announcement this week, as it was just announced earlier this morning that Baidu would be entering a partnership with a company called Conexant on voice-enabled artificial intelligence.