In a groundbreaking move that promises to reshape the landscape of artificial intelligence and data processing, data platform technology and software company VAST Data has unveiled the VAST Data Platform, an ingenious convergence of storage, database, and virtualised compute engine services. The platform’s introduction at the Build Beyond event marks a significant leap toward the realisation of AI-automated discovery.
In recent times, large language models (LLMs) have laid the foundation for the AI revolution, enabling tasks such as text generation and natural language understanding. However, the true power of AI lies in its ability to initiate discovery autonomously, much like the human mind. VAST Data’s breakthrough ushers in this new era by facilitating the convergence of structured and unstructured data in a unified system, paving the way for monumental strides in the realm of AI-driven innovation.
CEO and Co-Founder of VAST Data, Renen Hallak, aptly describes the company’s achievement, stating, “Encapsulating the ability to create and catalog understanding from natural data on a global scale, we’re consolidating entire IT infrastructure categories to enable the next era of large-scale data computation.” This visionary statement underscores the core ethos of the VAST Data Platform – democratising AI abilities and unlocking the immense potential stored within data assets.
The VAST Data Platform comprises three pivotal components that synergistically fuel its capabilities. At its foundation lies the VAST DataStore, a robust storage architecture designed to capture and serve unstructured natural data. This ingenious solution eradicates the complexities of storage tiering while allowing seamless access to data from private or major public cloud data centers.
Augmenting the platform’s prowess is the VAST DataBase, a semantic database layer that seamlessly marries structured and unstructured data. This innovation enables rapid queries and real-time analytics by combining the features of a database, data warehouse, and data lake into a single, efficient management system.
The third pillar, the VAST DataEngine, acts as the platform’s global function execution engine, harmonising data centers and cloud regions into a cohesive computational framework. Designed to accommodate popular programming languages like SQL and Python, this engine also incorporates materialised and reproducible model training, easing the management of AI pipelines.
However, the crowning achievement of the VAST Data Platform is the VAST DataSpace, a global namespace that facilitates high-performance data storage, retrieval, and processing across diverse locations. This revolutionary feature extends the platform’s reach into leading public cloud platforms, including AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, making it deployable in on-premises data centers and edge environments.
VAST Data’s collaboration with industry giants like Nvidia further solidifies its impact on the AI landscape. The integration of Nvidia’s DGX AI supercomputing infrastructure with the VAST Data Platform opens new horizons for generative AI applications, fostering a symbiotic relationship between data and computation.
David Feng, Director of Scientific Computing at Allen Institute, a user of the VAST Data Platform, underscores its significance by stating, “Taking advantage of new advancements in AI will be pivotal to help us make sense of all of this data, and the VAST Data Platform allows us to collect massive amounts of data, so that we can ultimately map as many neural circuits as possible.”
The VAST Data Platform promises a future where AI’s potential is truly harnessed, where machines engage in autonomous discovery, and where the boundaries of human achievement are continually redefined. As we stand on the precipice of AI’s next evolution, VAST Data’s revolutionary platform signifies a monumental step toward realising that future.