IBM and startup Together AI have signed a $240 million multi-year agreement to build a large-scale AI inference cluster on IBM Cloud. Slated to go online in early 2027, the U.S.-based cluster will feature about 2,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips on HGX B300 systems. The partnership aims to meet surging enterprise demand for running open-source AI models like DeepSeek and MiniMax, offering businesses a high-performance, cost-effective alternative to closed-model ecosystems.
IBM-Together AI $240M infrastructure deal
- ▪IBM and Together AI signed a multi-year, $240 million agreement to build a large-scale artificial intelligence inference cluster on IBM Cloud.
- ▪The partnership pairs IBM's enterprise cloud infrastructure with Together AI's GPU-accelerated platform to deliver high-performance model training and inference.
Nvidia HGX B300 cluster deployment
- ▪The planned artificial intelligence cluster on IBM Cloud will utilize Nvidia HGX B300 systems, which link Nvidia's Blackwell processors with Spectrum-X Ethernet networking.
- ▪The initial cluster will feature approximately 2,000 Nvidia Blackwell 300 chips and will be physically located in the United States, according to Together AI Chief Revenue Officer Kai Mak.
- ▪The initial Nvidia HGX B300 cluster on IBM Cloud is expected to come online in the first quarter of 2027.
- ▪Nvidia claims that the HGX B300 configuration can generate 30 times more AI factory output than its previous hardware generation.
Enterprise AI inference demand
- ▪Inference, the process of running trained artificial intelligence models to generate responses, has become a primary driver of demand for global computing capacity.
- ▪IBM Cloud launched Red Hat AI Inference services in May 2026, which include governance features designed for enterprises running open-source models.
- ▪Together AI claims its infrastructure can deliver up to two times faster inference times compared to standard setups alongside meaningful cost reductions.
Open-source AI model adoption
- ▪Businesses are increasingly adopting open-source AI models to rein in artificial intelligence costs and address cybersecurity concerns associated with closed models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Meta.
- ▪Together AI channels 400 trillion tokens per month through its inference product and supports more than one million developers.
- ▪Together AI's platform allows companies to run workloads on open models such as DeepSeek, MiniMax, and Kimi at lower costs than closed systems.
Together AI $8.3B valuation
- ▪Together AI, which was founded in 2020, operates as an infrastructure layer that rents cloud infrastructure to companies building on open, modular AI stacks.
- ▪Together AI was valued at $8.3 billion following an $800 million Series C funding round completed in July 2026.
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