US National Science Foundation to finance $20M supercomputer

Semafor ^ | July 17, 2025 | Rachyl Jones

[Red Badger]

Despite facing cuts to academic research under the Trump administration, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) is financing a new $20-million supercomputer built by the Georgia Institute of Technology that will use AI to advance science, the university said Tuesday.

The supercomputer, called Nexus, is intended to find new cures for diseases, better understand the human brain, and advance quantum computing. It will calculate more than 400 quadrillion operations per second. Georgia Tech will retain 10% of its capacity, while researchers from around the US can apply to use it as well.

The funding is one of the more significant commitments by the NSF since the Trump administration proposed slicing its budget by 57% to $3.9 billion, significantly limiting the number of grants it can award and the impact federal funds could have on academic AI research. The administration also paused new funding, laid off staff involved in AI research, and canceled hundreds of existing grants. Some of the cuts are tied up in court, making the NSF’s funding status uncertain.

With the likelihood of a constrained budget, the NSF’s decisions on project funding carry much greater weight. Investing in a supercomputer can advance innovations across science, math, technology, and other disparate disciplines, where projects with much more focused audiences may see fewer dollars coming their way. The initiative also reinforces the critical role of university research in AI innovation, which has been undermined by the cuts.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Education; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: ai; georgiatech; nsf; supercomputer

[Red Badger]

All you see in the tech websites is AI, AI, AI, AI, AI..............

[PGR88]

Be sure to have lots of PRC Chinese grad students working on it!

[1Old Pro]

Perhaps they should invest in providing a useful education to their enrollees so they can get jobs and pay off their loans?

[Lockbox]

This is a stupidest use of government money I’ve ever heard of. One, technology changes so fast, about every six months that this is throwing money at a rapidly moving target. Two, there are so many private investors that want to put money into this, the government doesn’t need to! Three, as with all new technology, you need people that are innovative and creative, which rules out the government bureaucrats.

Want a real life example to slap you in the face? How about the California super train? Where the hell is that one?

[jimwatx]

China is getting so far ahead of us technology-wise on AI and everything else that we are in deep trouble. And they do everything at a much lower cost. All while we import mass quantities of uneducated and low IQ third world people and push DEI policies. It’s really insane but thanks to the left that’s where things are heading.

[butlerweave]

Flushing money down the AI money pit

[The_Harlequin]

I’m no IT guy by any stretch, but I do know that AI is something to take seriously on many levels. I understand that the natural inclination is to distrust any govt funded project, and we should always be wary of bureaucratic boondoggles. But let’s see some facts and evaluations from those who know what they’re talking about.

[alternatives?]

A problem with our development of AI is the insistence of non-discriminatory. For example, Amazon developed a model that chose which applicants to hire. The problem was men were disproportionally chosen. To work around that complicated the model and reduced efficiencies of using the model. A country not bothered with “discrimination” has more efficient models (less time to develop and using less power) and greater productivity gain from the model.

[TalBlack]

They talk at cross purposes for some strange reason. The project to save all the sick people in the world is a go and Trump cut the budget. How odd.

[Red Badger]

Every civilization creates its own gods as a reflection of themselves...................

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

Hell no they aren’t;
the taxpayer is!!!

Media keeps giving credit to the blood suckers instead of the truly blood sucked, the tax payer.

Yoy’ve been santa claused by force.

[dpetty121263]

Must be buying this Super Computer on the discount rack...20 million is not a lot of money.

[magooey]

At least this project is not being built in one of the racist antisemitic poison ivy’s. Hopefully scholars can benefit from working there whether they are Jewish or not.

[FreedomPoster]

What we called a supercomputer when I was in engineering school, we now all carry in our pockets. And I’m young enough (barely) to have never learned to use a slide rule.

[Mariner]

Google, xAI, Microsoft and Amazon all have this level of compute power.

Makes we wonder what they’re trying to figure out.

[Red Badger]

I had one in high school..................

[GingisK]

I remember in the early 1970s when the Cray was announced. Soon thereafter the favorite geek joke was, “Hey! You hear about the Cray? It came out of an infinite loop in fifteen minutes!”.

[GingisK]

...20 million is not a lot of money...

Amazing what ca happen when you take Boeing, Lockheed, or General Dynamics out of the picture.