SANTA CLARA — NVIDIA and F5 have unveiled a collaboration to integrate NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs with F5 BIG-IP Next for Kubernetes, a strategic step toward enhancing AI efficiency and security in sovereign cloud environments. This innovative solution is designed to enhance application delivery and security, meeting the needs of industries with stringent data governance, privacy, and compliance requirements.

The collaboration was unveiled during the NVIDIA AI Summit in Mumbai, India, and targets the rising demand for scalable AI infrastructure, particularly in sectors that require robust data protection and regulatory compliance.

“Our partnership with NVIDIA is about empowering industries to deploy scalable, secure AI solutions with greater speed and performance, while ensuring sensitive data remains safeguarded,” said Ahmed Guetari, vice president and general manager of service provider at F5.

This initiative is poised to help governments and businesses manage sensitive information more effectively while accelerating the delivery of AI applications. According to market forecasts, the sovereign cloud sector is expected to grow to $250 billion by 2027, while the foundation model market is projected to hit $30 billion within the same timeframe.

Sovereign clouds, designed to meet rigorous data privacy and localization standards, are particularly vital for sectors such as telecommunications, financial services, and government agencies. The integration of F5 BIG-IP Next for Kubernetes with NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs establishes a secure and compliant AI networking infrastructure, enabling industries to adopt cutting-edge AI capabilities without compromising data privacy.

The BlueField-3 DPUs streamline tasks such as load balancing, routing, and security, ensuring efficient AI prompt delivery to large language model (LLM) instances. This approach not only optimizes GPU resource utilization but also reduces energy consumption, paving the way for scalable and sustainable AI performance.

Moreover, NVIDIA NIM microservices, which accelerate foundation model deployments, will benefit from improved AI workload management resulting from this partnership.

This collaboration delivers a compelling solution for industries transitioning to cloud-native infrastructures. By combining enhanced security with scalable efficiency, NVIDIA and F5 are enabling organizations in highly regulated sectors to confidently expand their AI capabilities while adhering to the highest standards of data protection.

Editor’s note: The figures on the global sovereign cloud market come from IDC’s “Worldwide Sovereign Cloud Market Forecast, 2022–2027” report, Doc # US49695922, published in November 2023. The data on the generative AI software market are courtesy of ABI Research’s “Gen AI Software” report, MD-AISG-101, published in July 2024.