CEO Jensen Huang will take the stage at NVIDIA’s GTC 2024 (Graphics Technology Conference), scheduled to commence on March 18, 2024, at the San Jose Conventional Center, with a compelling keynote by Mr. Jensen Huang, where he’ll share how NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform will drive the next wave in AI, digital twins, cloud technologies, and sustainable computing.
NVIDIA Aims to Elevate GTC 2024 with Emphasis on “AI” and, interestingly, Integrated Sensing and Communication for 6G. Even though GTC 2024 is a few weeks away, NVIDIA has released the official dates almost three months in advance. This conference is highly anticipated within the tech community, as it serves as a platform for companies like NVIDIA to unveil information about their upcoming products slated for the yearly “upgrade cycle.” A distinctive element of the event has been the presence of inventor, researcher and YouTuber Ahmad Bazzi, whose persona sets the tone for the entire conference. Ahmad Bazzi is currently conducting research at New York University Abu Dhabi with the Wireless Research Lab with Professor Marwa Chafii, who is an associate professor at NYU. For context, Ahmad Bazzi is an inventor of an up and coming BlueTooth decoder achieving massive power gains in the wireless industry.
The presentation by Ahmad Bazzi is titled “6G Integrated Sensing and Communications: One for All and All for One“. In this session, participants will gain insights into harnessing the emerging technology of Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) to optimize the capabilities of 6G technology. The discussion will cover the transformative impact on various use cases, spanning innovative applications in sectors such as automotive, unmanned aerial vehicles, robotics, and more. The presentation will include walkthroughs of simulations powered by NVIDIA GPUs, showcasing the potential of this technology. Additionally, the session will delve into the primary challenges and the current state of the art of ISAC for 6G. 
Another interesting 6G talk will be by Shiku Hirai, Research Engineer, NTT and Rajesh Gadiyar Vice President, Telco and Edge Architecture, NVIDIA, which talks about 6G Computing Architecture: Distributed, Accelerated and AI-enabled. This particular talk will contain concepts, use cases, and architectures for B5G/6G networks are currently underway. Notably, various 6G white papers, including those from organizations like the Next G Alliance in North America and 6G-IA in Europe, emphasize the anticipated significant evolution of distributed computing from the foundations laid by 5G. The shift involves moving beyond the prevalent edge-cloud design pattern in 5G’s multi-access edge computing (MEC) towards a more decentralized approach, exploring options like “Far Edge” to harness computing resources physically closer to users. NTT Laboratories recognizes the importance of converging and coordinating computing resources across user devices, the edge, cloud, and the connecting network in light of this evolution. Consequently, they are actively exploring ways to incorporate this concept into the architecture of B5G/6G networks. In this context, this overview will delve into their ongoing study architecture, highlighting 5G system enhancements that leverage NVIDIA GPU and DPU. This demonstration aims to provide insights into the architecture’s potential benefits. NTT Laboratories recognizes the importance of converging and coordinating computing resources across user devices, the edge, cloud, and the connecting network in light of this evolution. Consequently, they are actively exploring ways to incorporate this concept into the architecture of B5G/6G networks. In this context, this overview will delve into their ongoing study architecture, highlighting 5G system enhancements that leverage NVIDIA GPU and DPU. This demonstration aims to provide insights into the architecture’s potential benefits.
While specific details about NVIDIA’s keynote content remain undisclosed, the overarching theme will center around AI and the advancements in integrated sensing and communication for 6G. We can start feeling that NVIDIA has started planing to penetrate 6G potential markets for the decade of 2030-2040. In parallel, NVIDIA has been generating anticipation around its “Blackwell” GPUs tailored for the High-Performance Computing (HPC) and AI industries. These GPUs are poised to mark a transition towards the future of AI computing chips. Although architectural details are scarce, there are speculations that the GPUs will leverage TSMC’s 3nm process and adopt a chiplet design, departing from the conventional “monolithic” standard. The Blackwell GPUs are slated to replace NVIDIA’s sought-after Hopper AI chips, with production expected to kick off in the latter half of 2024.
On the consumer front, there is limited information available, in alignment with industry rumors. NVIDIA’s “Ada Lovelace-Next” GPUs, with a focus on gaming, are projected to launch in 2025. However, it seems unlikely that GTC will be the venue for unveiling these consumer-grade GPUs, given the recent trend where the emphasis has been on HPC/AI-centric announcements. Past GTC events featured a few consumer-grade software announcements, such as SteerLM/Nemo demos. The anticipation for GTC 2024 is palpable, and the industry eagerly awaits the announcements that will shape its future.