Latest news with #CloudComputing
Globe and Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Amazon Just Sent a Massive Warning to Nvidia Investors
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has seen its sales soar on the back of a few big customers spending heavily to outfit data centers with as many of the chipmaker's GPUs as they can buy. Its top three customers accounted for 34% of sales last year. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is likely one of those big customers. The cloud computing giant spent over $93 billion in capital expenditures over the last 122 months, primarily focused on building out data centers for artificial intelligence (AI). That number will climb above $100 billion this year. While there's a lot of overhead, including buildings, server racks, networking equipment, and more, a good chunk of that spending goes to Nvidia for its leading-edge GPUs. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » But Nvidia's chips aren't the only ones Amazon uses in its servers, and the company just sent a signal that a competitor could be taking up more space in its data centers this year. Amazon's newest AI investment Amazon was caught flat-footed as generative AI took off in late 2022, but it's invested heavily to catch up with its competitors ever since. It made a $4 billion investment in Anthropic early last year, and it added another $4 billion in November. The most recent deal included a strategic partnership where Anthropic will use Amazon's custom silicon for large language model training and inference. Amazon's custom AI chips are designed in partnership with Marvell Technologies. Marvell also makes networking chips and other data center chips among a broader silicon portfolio. Amazon made a small equity investment in the company in late 2021 well before it chose the chipmaker for its custom Trainium and Inferentia chips. Amazon recently made another AI investment. Its first-quarter 13F filing with the SEC revealed a purchase of 822,234 shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD). Those shares are worth about $90 million at today's price, which isn't a huge investment for a company generating tens of billions of dollars in free cash flow every quarter. However, that's still enough to make it Amazon's third-largest marketable equity holding in its portfolio. AMD is Nvidia's closest competitor when it comes to advanced GPUs. It's also the only company Intel has licensed to use its x86 CPU architecture, which is essential for Windows PCs and servers. The chipmaker is well positioned to gain market share on both fronts (GPUs and CPUs), and Amazon's equity investment could signal an acceleration in AMD's sales to the largest cloud computing company in the world. A $500 billion market AMD CEO Lisa Su believes the AI accelerator market -- which includes GPUs and custom silicon solutions like Marvell's -- will grow at an average rate of 60% per year from 2025 through 2028 to reach $500 billion. While Nvidia will likely take the bulk of that spend, smaller companies are positioned to gain market share over that period with improved price performance. Not to mention, AMD and other chipmakers offer cloud providers a chance to diversify away from reliance on Nvidia, ensuring Nvidia's chip prices don't balloon out of control. Indeed, AMD recently struck a deal with Oracle to deploy a cluster of 30,000 AMD MI355X accelerators, which helped push AMD's data center segment revenue 57% higher year over year in the first quarter. AMD's existing data center partnerships for its EPYC CPUs with all the hyperscalers put it in a great position to expand those relationships with its Instinct GPUs. On top of the opportunity in GPUs, AMD has become a leading provider of CPUs for cloud computing. That can be attributed to Intel falling behind in technological capabilities relative to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, where AMD prints its chips. As a result, AMD can offer better price performance with its more power-efficient chips. With better CPUs and a competitive GPU lineup, AMD should continue to take up more and more real estate in the hyperscalers' data centers. Investors can buy AMD stock today for 27-times forward earnings. That's a premium to the overall market, but a discount relative to Nvidia, which trades closer to 32-times earnings. That said, Nvidia continues to grow faster than AMD thanks to its pricing power and scale, so it may deserve a premium to AMD. Amazon very likely bought shares at a better valuation than investors can get today, but its stake in AMD is a strong indication that the chipmaker is continuing to make progress in gaining market share. Given AMD's solid CPU business and the upside potential of gaining share in the fast-growing AI accelerator market, the stock looks less risky than Nvidia at its current price. Should you invest $1,000 in Advanced Micro Devices right now? Before you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Advanced Micro Devices wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $804,688!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is957% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to167%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Levy has positions in Amazon and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Intel, Nvidia, Oracle, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Marvell Technology and recommends the following options: short May 2025 $30 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Zawya
23-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Amid 'Jensanity', Nvidia signals plans to keep AI crown
TAIPEI - Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang flew out of Taipei on Friday after a week revelling in the adoration of Taiwan's tech industry, and delivering a subtle but crucial message from the U.S. AI chip king on how it plans to keep its crown. While 'Jensanity' swirled around Huang at the Computex trade fair, Nvidia itself was at a crossroads. Having grown to become the world's most valuable chip company, investors fear a drop in spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure as well as damage to sales from U.S. trade friction. U.S. restrictions on high-tech exports have seen Nvidia lose market share in China as it withdraws chips and designs inferior alternatives compliant with evolving U.S. policy. Now, cloud computing giants such as Microsoft and Alphabet's Google have signalled cuts to AI spending. And while the 62-year old CEO has in the past month announced deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars in regions such as the Gulf, analysts said such deals are likely to become scarce. "Is every country going to announce a $10 billion or $50 billion data centre like the Saudis? Of course not," said Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg. "They're sort of running out of obvious deals." When asked by Reuters how Nvidia planned to deal with AI spending slowdown, Huang said, "AI infrastructure is being built out (everywhere) - that's one of the reasons I'm travelling around the world... AI infrastructure is going to be a part of society." NEW GROWTH At Computex, Huang revealed a means of growth that does not rely on mega sovereign infrastructure arrangements: new technology that expands Nvidia's grip on the AI market. The tech's centrepiece is called NVLink Fusion. It allows companies to plug custom chips into Nvidia's AI infrastructure, thereby becoming a platform upon which others can build. "Instead of having to build the entire rack of equipment themselves, (companies) could innovate or differentiate on the custom (chip) itself," said Nick Kucharewski, vice president at Marvell Technology. The bet is that drawing companies to build hardware that utilises Nvidia's Fusion platform will drive demand for the underlying AI network and data centre parts that Nvidia sells. Nvidia has also begun to reach into the enterprise market. This week, it launched a line of servers that Huang described as an "enterprise AI supercomputer". Huang's pitch was that the servers open up a multi-billion dollar market because customers can use them for "everything", such as graphics, virtual machines and AI applications. The enterprise market is large but difficult to break into, said Seaport Research's Goldberg. Deals tend to be small - compared with a sovereign data centre - and more expensive and time-consuming to win. "My sense is we're sort of bumping up against the limits of expanding the customer base," Goldberg said. TAIWAN ECOSYSTEM Nvidia works with some of Taiwan's biggest names in tech, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which makes many of its chips. However, the underlying infrastructure for AI would not be possible without the hundreds of Taiwanese companies big and small supplying components and manufacturing know-how needed to construct Nvidia's complex AI systems. "The purpose of Computex was to bring together the ecosystem and the supply chain," said Ian Cutress, chief analyst at consultancy More Than Moore. Such a network is necessary to support the deals announced in the Gulf and that are likely coming elsewhere in the world in the coming months, Cutress said. Taiwanese industry has embraced Huang, who is perceived as a local-born hero hailing from Taiwan's historic capital of Tainan before migrating to the U.S. when he was nine years old. By the time he flew out on Friday, Huang had appeared on stage or at banquets with nearly every prominent Taiwanese tech executive, including Chairman Young Liu of AI server builder Foxconn who called him the "leader of Team Taiwan". MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai gave Huang chunks of guava in a plastic bag from the Nvidia leader's favoured fruit stall in Taipei during one of the chip designer's events. Solomon Technology, a provider of industrial automation and AI-based inspection solutions which uses Nvidia's software tools, said working with Nvidia is a win-win situation. Shares of Solomon have surged 241% since Huang mentioned the firm at Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference in March last year. "The collaboration with Nvidia has given us greater visibility. We weren't very well-known before, but with Nvidia's support, many more people know us now," said Solomon Chairman Johnny Chen.
The South African
19-05-2025
- The South African
How to Quickly Jumpstart Your IT Career
Home » How to Quickly Jumpstart Your IT Career Let's be real, that initial excitement can also come with a pinch of 'Where on earth do I even start?!'. There are just so many directions, so many technologies, and it appears that everyone has an opinion as to what's 'hot' today. You're probably a student, or perhaps even a career-changer, wondering what the most straightforward route is to landing that very first IT job. You've arrived at the right place! Consider me your very own guide, responsible for sweeping away the jargon and placing you on the journey to the skills and know-how that will get you hired sooner. We're not just going to discuss learning stuff; we're also going to discuss how to highlight those new shiny skills because, face it, even the best coder on the planet is going to need some way of letting the world (and recruiters) know what they can do. The IT field is too vast, but there are some subjects which always come in the job description and are highly in need for freshers by employers. Focus on these will give a huge boost. Cloud Computing Fundamentals (AWS, Azure, or GCP) Why it's a game-changer: All size businesses are moving to the cloud. It's affordable, scalable, and innovation-focused. Cloud platform knowledge is no longer an expert set of skills; it's going mainstream. What to learn: Start with the basics of one of the heavy hitters: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is commonly recommended for beginners due to its market dominance and enormous learning resources, but Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are good too. Learn foundational services: Think compute (AWS EC2 or Azure VMs), storage (AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage), fundamental networking (VPCs), and identity and access management (IAM). Target a foundation certification: AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900), or Google Cloud Digital Leader can be great starting points and look great on a resume. Quick Wins: Every platform offers a free version. Sign up for an account, learn tutorials, and try to build something little – maybe have a simple website or create a small database. Hands-on experience is highly valuable. Cybersecurity Basics Why it's not debatable: With more internet threats, security is something all large and small companies need to keep in mind. Even if being a professional security expert isn't your dream, having a grasp on basic security concepts is a huge advantage to any IT worker. What to learn: Core principles: Know CIA triad (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability), threats (phishing, malware, ransomware), and core principles of security. Networking basics: Most security is focused on networks, so learn basics like IP addresses, firewalls, and VPNs. Awareness: Learn password hygiene, multi-factor authentication, and safe browsing. Quick Wins: Engage in newbie-friendly Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges online. Most have challenges that will give you hands-on skills in an entertaining manner. Even learning how to secure your home network is a good place to start! Data Literacy: Why it's valuable everywhere: Data is the new oil, right? Companies are swimming in data and need people who can make sense of it. What to learn: SQL: This is the bread and butter for querying databases. Master the basics: SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY. Spreadsheet skills (Excel/Google Sheets): Don't underestimate the power of advanced spreadsheet functions for data manipulation and visualization. Introduction to a data visualization tool: Getting the fundamentals of something like Tableau Public or Microsoft Power BI Desktop (there are free versions) is incredibly rewarding and assists in creating simple charts and dashboards. Quick Wins: Attempt and investigate datasets that are freely available online (starting point would be something like Kaggle) and attempt to answer silly questions through SQL or a spreadsheet. Plot, for example, movie ratings or sport trends. DevOps & Automation Fundamentals (Git, Docker) Why it's changing IT: DevOps is simplifying software development and IT ops. Automation is a big part of it. What to learn: Git & GitHub/GitLab: Version control is important. Learn commit, branch, merge, and collaborating on projects. Docker (Containers): Containerization becomes more essential by the moment. Learn how to containerize a simple application. It simplifies application deployment immensely. Basic scripting: Script using Python or Bash scripting to automate routine tasks. Quick Wins: Register on GitHub and version your own projects, no matter how insignificant. Try containerizing a simple web application you've created. Web Development Fundamentals (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) Why it's a good base: Even if you don't wish to be a front-end developer, the knowledge of how websites are built is incredibly useful in most IT roles, ranging from support to marketing tech. What to learn: HTML for structure, CSS for styling, and JavaScript for interactivity. Responsive design: How to design websites to look good on all devices. Quick Wins: Build your own portfolio website. It's a great way to exercise and showcase your other projects. There are tons of free tutorials on sites like freeCodeCamp or The Odin Project. Alright, so you're learning all these great technical skills. Fantastic! But here's a little secret I'm going to tell you: IT isn't about what you know; it's about how you work and how you present yourself. Problem-Solving: This is the absolute heart of IT. Encourage an inquiring mind. When something goes wrong, don't just fix it; try and work out why it went wrong. Communication: Can you explain a technical concept to someone who isn't technical? Can you write a decent email or document your efforts? These count. Teamwork: You will be required to work in a team for the majority of the time. Master working in a team, sharing knowledge, and being a good team player. Continuous Learning: The tech world is in hyperdrive. Get accustomed to the fact that learning is an ongoing process. Read technology blogs, listen to podcasts, and stay curious. Okay, now let's talk about getting noticed. You may be the most skilled human being on earth, but if your resume is not doing them justice, then you're not going to get interviews. Especially when you are just starting and don't have decades of actual experience. Your resume is your sales document. It should be concise, clear, and compelling. For students, projects, relevant coursework, and internships or volunteer work are most important. Wherever possible, quantify your accomplishments. Rather than 'Worked on a project,' say 'Created a Python script that automated X task, cutting processing time by Y%.' This is where a decent resume builder can be a lifesaver. Let's be real, not everybody is a design professional, and messing around with layouts in a word processor is a nightmare. You want to be spending your time making your skills and experiences stand out, not messing around with margins and fonts. Something like the Adobe Express resume builder can do a lot to take that pressure off. They will typically have professionally designed templates that will make your resume look crisp, contemporary. It's simple to put your information in, reorganise sections, and get everything perfectly aligned. It allows you to focus on the content – your potential, your projects, your skills – and allows the software to handle the design. It's like having a design assistant ensure your first impression is a positive one. I remember one such friend, Sarah, who was highly qualified but whose resume was a text wall. She switched to using a resume builder, chose a clean template, and her qualifications were highlighted. She started getting more calls within days because recruiters could scan and read the qualifications at first sight. The most important things to include on your student resume: Skills Section: Technical skills enumerated clearly (programming languages, software, tools, cloud platforms). Projects: Personal projects, capstone projects, or applicable coursework. Describe what you did, what technologies you used, and any positive results. Include a link to your GitHub if you have one! Certifications: Industry certifications you hold. Internships/Volunteer Work: Even if not directly an IT role, emphasise transferable skills such as problem-solving, customer service, or teamwork. Resume and skills done, now off to job hunt! Utilise Online Platforms: LinkedIn is the site. Build a good profile, connect with industry people, and participate in groups corresponding to your field. Indeed, Glassdoor and speciality IT job portals are crucial. Networking (It's Not as Scary as It Sounds!): Attempt to go to virtual career fairs, webinars, or in-person tech meetups if possible. Talk to people. You'd be surprised at how many job opportunities are found through connections. Customise Your Applications: Bombing the same resume to everywhere is not a good idea. Revise it to put on top of the page the skills and experiences most directly relevant to each specific job posting. Prepare for Interviews Technical: Be ready to describe your projects and technical abilities. For some roles, you might be asked coding challenges or technical questions. Practice! Be ready to describe your projects and technical abilities. For some roles, you might be asked coding challenges or technical questions. Practice! Behavioural: Use the application of the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) when answering questions about how you've handled things in the past. Be ready to talk about your strengths, weaknesses, and why you're drawn to the firm and job. Whew, that was a mouthful, but hopefully that gives you a better direction. Obtaining an IT job promptly is absolutely within reach if you're focusing on gaining in-demand skills, work on those key soft skills, and learn to present yourself well. Remember, though, it's a marathon and not a sprint, but with strategy, proactiveness, and persistence, you can dramatically reduce your job search. Develop projects, get real-world experience, and don't underestimate the effectiveness of a well-written resume – it's your ticket to getting that first interview. There are tools out there to make you stand out, so put them to use! The IT field is exciting and full of prospects for anyone ready to learn and grow. So, go for it, start learning, start developing, and get set to launch a fantastic career! You can do it! Test your B20 knowledge with this 2-minute survey – AND WIN R2 000!
Gulf Business
14-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
AWS, HUMAIN to launch $5bn AI Zone in Saudi Arabia
Image: Getty Images Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Saudi Arabia's state-backed AI company HUMAIN announced a strategic partnership to develop a first-of-its-kind 'AI Zone' in the kingdom, backed by a joint investment exceeding $5bn. The new AI Zone, aimed at accelerating AI adoption locally and globally, will include dedicated AWS AI infrastructure, UltraCluster networks, and services such as Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Sagemaker, and Amazon Q. The initiative aligns with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals. The partnership builds on AWS's previously announced The AI Zone marks an additional commitment to expand cloud and AI capabilities in the region. 'This new collaboration with HUMAIN lays the foundation for the intelligent era, accelerates our innovation momentum, grows our talent, and reinforces Saudi Arabia's position as a global partner of choice in the age of AI,' said Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Communications and Information Technology. As part of the partnership, HUMAIN will utilise AWS technologies to deliver AI solutions for customers and co-develop a unified AI agent marketplace to simplify AI deployment across government services. Building LLMs The two entities also plan to develop large language models (LLMs), including Arabic-focused models, to support AI adoption in key sectors such as healthcare, education, energy, and government. 'This collaboration to build an AI Zone in Saudi Arabia will enable innovations across all industries using AWS's advanced AI offerings,' said Matt Garman, CEO of The initiative includes the establishment of a Generative AI Innovation Center, in partnership with HUMAIN, to fast-track generative AI (genAI) adoption for startups, enterprises, and public institutions. AWS-HUMAIN alliance to spur startup growth The partnership will also bolster Saudi Arabia's startup ecosystem. AWS will provide startups access to cloud tools and resources, including AWS Activate. The Kingdom saw a record $750m in venture capital funding in 2024, the highest in the Middle East and North Africa, according to MAGNiTT. AWS is also expanding its training and certification programs to build AI and cloud expertise among Saudi nationals. It has committed to training 100,000 citizens, including 10,000 women, through initiatives such as the Amazon Academy and the AWS Saudi Arabia Women's Skills Initiative. 'By leveraging AWS's world-class cloud infrastructure and AI expertise and HUMAIN's full-stack AI capabilities, we are creating an offering that will attract global investment and talent,' said Tareq Amin, CEO of HUMAIN. According to PwC, AI is expected to contribute $130bn to Saudi Arabia's economy by 2030 — over 40 per cent of the projected AI economic impact in the Middle East. Read:
Express Tribune
22-02-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
Pakistan's first computerised observatory set up at NED
Pakistan's first computerised observatory for advanced astronomical research has been set up at NED University's Department of Computer Information Systems. This observatory is poised to revolutionise the study of galaxies, planets, and stars. It is the second such facility in Karachi, complementing the observatory at the University of Karachi, which until now has been the only place in the metropolitan city dedicated to astronomical research. The new observatory is equipped with cutting-edge telescopes, including a 14-inch lens and a mobile-app controlled telescope, offering an unprecedented level of accessibility and precision in astronomical observation. The observatory will also serve as a key venue for sighting the Ramazan crescent for the first time, a task until now being performed by clerics-led moonsighting committees. Prof Dr Muhammad Ali Ismail, Director of the National Centre for Big Data and Cloud Computing at NED University, spoke about the importance of computerised observatories on an international scale. While speaking to The Express Tribune, Dr Ismail explained that the NED observatory is one of the few of its kind worldwide, where all telescopes are integrated with computer systems and data is stored in a centralised data centre. "This state-of-the-art setup means researchers no longer have to visit the observatory in person to conduct their work," he added. "Instead, they can access valuable data remotely via the Big Data and Cloud Computing Centre, which is connected to the observatory. Dr Ismail revealed that the NED University is engaging with international space agencies, including Nasa, to collaborate on astronomical research projects. "This collaboration promises to expand the reach and scope of the research conducted at the observatory," he added. The observatory's technological advancements don't stop at just telescopic observation. Uzair Abid, Team Leader at the National Centre, said that the observatory's high-tech telescopes also gather data on solar activity, specifically solar spots.
