Definition
Plain language
A high-end NVIDIA data-center chip used to train and run large AI models, a generation before the H100.
As stated in the literature
NVIDIA's Ampere-architecture data-center GPU, widely used for large-scale training and serving prior to the Hopper-generation H100; eight of them form a common single-node training cluster.
Why it matters: It represents the kind of expensive, specialized hardware that determines whether a team can afford to train big AI models at all.
For example, a research lab might wire together eight A100 chips in a single machine to train a large language model.
Heard on the show
“And it ran on a single A100, where the big model needed four.”Episode 154 — How a 7B Model Out-Investigates a 72B One by Choosing What to Look At