- Apple has joined the board of directors of the Ultra Accelerator Link consortium
- Binding is a key technology that links GPUs together, similar to synapses in neurons.
- UALink is emerging as the biggest rival to Nvidia’s proprietary NVLink
In June 2024, we reported how several big tech names had come together to form the Ultra Accelerator Link (ULink) Promoter Group, a strategic move aimed at reducing Nvidia’s dominance in the AI accelerator market.
Directly competing with Nvidia’s proprietary NVLink technology, UALink seeks to develop a new industry standard for high-speed, low-latency communications for expanded AI systems in data centers. It is already backed by Intel, AMD, Google, Microsoft, Meta, HPE, Cisco and Broadcom, but now Apple has also joined the UALink board of directors.
“ULink shows great promise in addressing connectivity challenges and creating new opportunities to expand the capabilities and demands of AI,” said Becky Loop, Apple’s director of Platform Architecture. “Apple has a long history of pioneering and collaborating on innovations that drive our industry, and we are excited to join the UALink Board of Directors.”
ACDC Project
By joining the consortium, it seems likely that Apple is planning to use UALink technology in “Project ACDC” (Apple Chips in the Data Center), also known as “Baltra.”
This rumored initiative, in collaboration with TSMC and Broadcom, aims to develop proprietary AI chips for Apple’s data centers, boosting the capabilities of its new Apple Intelligence.
Apple isn’t the only startup joining the consortium; Additional supporters include Alibaba Cloud Computing and Synopsys.
Expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2025, the UALink 1.0 specification will enable scalable connection of up to 200 Gbps per lane for up to 1,024 accelerators within an AI module.
“We are pleased to welcome Alibaba, Apple and Synopsys to the UALink Consortium board of directors,” said Kurtis Bowman, chairman of the UALink Consortium board of directors. “Since our incorporation, the Consortium has grown to more than 65 members in total, spanning cloud, silicon and IP providers, software companies, system OEMs and others. “Continued support of the Consortium will help accelerate the adoption of this key industry standard, which will define the next generation interconnection for AI workloads.”
