Nvidia Uses Mellanox Technology in Its New DGX-2 AI System

Nvidia Corporation is using InfiniBand and Ethernet technology developed by Israel-based chip company Mellanox Technologies Ltd. in its latest DGX-2 artificial intelligence system, announced late last month, Mellanox announced Monday.

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DGX-2 uses eight Mellanox ConnectX port adaptors capable of providing an overall of 1,600 gigabits per second of bi-directional data. Much like its predecessor DGX-1, which also uses Mellanox’s adaptors, DGX-2 uses GPGPU (general-purpose computing on graphics processing units) for deep learning applications. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Yokne'am Illit, a town in northern Israel, Nasdaq-traded Mellanox develops electronic components that facilitate the transfer of data between servers and storage devices. In January, Mellanox reported annual revenues of $864 million for 2017. Non-GAAP net income per diluted share was $2.28 in the fiscal year 2017. In November, New York-headquartered hedge fund Starboard Value LP acquired a 10.6% stake in Mellanox, becoming its largest shareholder. Starboard then began pushing for reforms, criticizing the company’s board of directors and management. Mellanox responded by claiming Starboard's behavior poses a risk to the company. These issues will be at the heart of an extraordinary shareholder meeting scheduled for May.