NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang with Infosys co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani.
Nvidia said it has expanded a partnership with Infosys that will train 50,000 workers on its generative artificial intelligence apps and tools, a move that underscores the increasing demand for AI skills and the importance of collaboration to address growing demand.
Nvidia’s partnership is a strategic response to maintain its leadership in AI computing amid increasing competition from rivals like Intel and AMD, as well as startups and cloud service providers developing their own AI tech. With the partnership’s forthcoming “Center of Excellence for AI Advancements” facility, Nvidia is training an army of AI experts to handle the business demand for AI implementation and safeguard its significant competitive advantage.
“By combining our strengths and training 50,000 of our workforce on NVIDIA AI technology, we are creating end-to-end industry-leading AI solutions that will help enterprises on their journey to become AI-first,” said Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder and chairman, after the announcement.
While the financial details of the partnership aren’t publicly available, Infosys has recently been locking in profitable contracts with their AI development customers. For instance, in mid-September, they secured a $1.5 billion 15-year contract with one global company, and in July, Infosys also inked a deal with an existing client, committing to provide AI development services with a budget of $2 billion over a five-year period. This enhanced partnership with Nvidia could help Infosys to service these lucrative contracts and those expected to be made amidst the AI boom.
Infosys, the Indian global IT and consulting firm’s partnership with Nvidia, has used its “enterprise AI” software platform to assist its clients in developing their own AI applications tailored for their respective industries while helping to engorge Nvidia’s revenue, which was up 101% year-over-year as of their second-quarter earnings in late August.
In a press statement after the announcement, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said, “Together, Nvidia and Infosys will create an expert workforce to help businesses use this platform to build custom applications and solutions.”
This tactic of partnering with different businesses to help spread AI adoption hasn’t been limited to only Infosys. Nvidia has partnerships in place with other major companies, such as Google and Microsoft, which provide cloud–hosting and data center services for their customers.
These partnerships aren’t only being employed by Nvidia, though. Infosys itself has similar collaborations with its competitors Broadcom and Qualcomm, for instance.
“This massive ramp-up in AI adoption and partnerships with leading tech service providers will drive a major reacceleration in their business performance,” says Ivan Feinseth, chief investment officer and director of research at Tigress Financial.
Since closing at a record high in late August at $493.51, Nvidia shares have been stuck in a downtrend the last few weeks, with prices now down 11.9% from their August peak as markets digest a share price that some analysts believe may be overly inflated with AI hype. Still, others see the slump as a bargain opportunity.
“I believe significant upside exists from current levels,” says Feinseth. “I view the recent pullback from its all-time high of $502 in late August as a decent buying opportunity.”