Russian government to issue grants enabling companies and researchers to rent supercomputers

The Russian government plans to boost supercomputer usage by offering grants to companies that rent them, reports CNews. This initiative will be instrumental in encouraging businesses and research institutions to adopt high-performance computing. With new supercomputers coming online in the coming years, Russia could increase computational power tenfold by 2030. However, it is unclear how Russia plans to build supercomputers as companies like AMD, Intel, and Nvidia cannot sell their highest-performance AI and HPC processors to Russian entities. 

The Ministry of Digital Development will provide financial support to organizations using supercomputers for tasks like artificial intelligence training and simulating intricate processes, such as molecular modeling. Currently, Russian supercomputers are highly sought after by research facilities, particularly in fields that require loads of compute. According to experts, this grant program will be most valuable to scientific labs that rely on supercomputers for various simulation workloads. Businesses will also benefit from these supercomputer grants, especially in specialized industries that involve complex design and process optimization.  

The high cost of acquiring and operating supercomputers is a significant hurdle for small companies. AI projects require compute GPU resources worth millions of dollars, which most startups cannot afford. These grants aim to lower financial barriers, allowing smaller businesses to access advanced technology and scale their innovations. 

Despite existing investments, Russia has massive unmet demand for computational power to develop products like polymers and composites, potentially costing the market millions of dollars each year. This lack of resources hinders innovation in areas that require advanced simulations and calculations. 

Institutions like ITMO University, even with newly installed supercomputing systems, face challenges in meeting their growing needs. The demand for training fundamental AI models significantly exceeds their current capabilities, confirming the need to enhance HPC capabilities in the Russian academic sector. 

Major Russian companies like Yandex, Sber, Moscow State University, and MTS currently own the country's top supercomputers. Machines like Lomonosov 2 and Christofari are already running at full capacity as companies like Sber and Yandex train their AI models, whereas the MSU uses its machine for scientific tasks. 

During his address to the Federal Assembly in late February 2024, the Russian president called for a tenfold performance increase of Russian supercomputers by 2030. To support this growth, the government also plans to reimburse companies building supercomputers for AI training for the costs associated with connecting them to the power grid. 

One thing that is unclear is how Russian entities plan to get new supercomputers, considering U.S. restrictions on selling supercomputers and AI parts to Russian and Chinese entities. One way for Russian entities to get processors like Nvidia's H100 or H200 is to smuggle them through third countries, such as China or the UAE. However, smuggling thousands of processors is a hard and expensive task.