Akamai Technologies has launched the Akamai Inference Cloud, a new platform designed to expand AI inference from core data centers to the edge of the internet. This move redefines where and how AI is used by enabling intelligent, agentic AI inference with low latency on a global scale, close to users and devices.
Quick Intel
Akamai launched Inference Cloud to run AI inference at the edge globally.
The platform leverages Akamai's 4,200+ edge locations and NVIDIA Blackwell infrastructure.
It targets the next generation of low-latency AI applications and agentic workflows.
Key use cases include smart commerce agents, real-time financial decisions, and physical AI.
It extends enterprise AI Factories to the edge for instant, personalized experiences.
The platform is available now, targeting 20 initial locations with a wider rollout planned.
Solving the Proximity Challenge for AI
The next wave of AI applications, particularly those involving intelligent agents, requires inference to happen closer to the point of interaction to eliminate network delays. Akamai Inference Cloud addresses this by leveraging the company's expertise in globally distributed architectures, applying the same principles that scaled the internet to the challenge of scaling AI. Dr. Tom Leighton, Akamai CEO and co-founder, said: "The next wave of AI requires the same proximity to users that allowed the internet to scale to become the pervasive global platform that it is today. Akamai solved this challenge before - and we're doing it again."
A Powerful Partnership with NVIDIA
The platform is built on a powerful technological foundation, combining NVIDIA's latest AI infrastructure—including RTX PRO Servers with Blackwell GPUs and BlueField DPUs—with Akamai's vast distributed cloud computing network. This collaboration is aimed at meeting the intensifying demand for planetary-scale AI inference. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, stated: "Inference has become the most compute-intensive phase of AI — demanding real-time reasoning at planetary scale. Together, NVIDIA and Akamai are moving inference closer to users everywhere, delivering faster, more scalable generative AI."
Unlocking New AI Frontiers
The platform enables several transformative use cases. It extends enterprise AI Factories to the edge, allowing smart commerce agents to act autonomously in real-time. It enables streaming inference for complex, multi-step agentic workflows, making them feel instantly responsive for applications like fraud detection. Furthermore, it is designed to power real-time Physical AI for autonomous systems that require millisecond-precision decision-making, such as industrial robots and smart city infrastructure.
By moving AI inference to the edge, Akamai is tackling one of the most significant bottlenecks in the widespread adoption of responsive, intelligent applications. This positions the company as a key enabler for the next generation of AI that is faster, more contextual, and integrated into the fabric of daily digital and physical life.
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