Nvidia Announces Massive DOE Supercomputer and Uber Robotaxi Partnership at GTC Washington

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a landmark keynote at the company's first-ever GTC conference in Washington, D.C. today, announcing several major partnerships that further cement the company's dominance in AI infrastructure and expand its reach into new sectors.

In the most significant announcement, Nvidia revealed it is partnering with Oracle to build what will be the U.S. Department of Energy's largest AI supercomputer, named "Solstice." The system will feature an unprecedented 110,000 Blackwell GPUs and will be housed at Argonne National Laboratory. A second system called "Equinox" will add another 10,000 Blackwell GPUs, with the combined systems delivering up to 2,200 exaflops of AI performance for scientific research.

"We are at the dawn of the AI industrial revolution that will define the future of every industry and nation," said Huang during his keynote. "This is our generation's Apollo moment."

In another major development, Nvidia announced a partnership with Uber to deploy a network of 100,000 self-driving robotaxis starting in 2027. The vehicles will be powered by Nvidia's Drive Hyperion platform, which is also being adopted by several major automakers including Stellantis, Lucid, and Mercedes-Benz.

The Washington D.C. location for this GTC event highlights Nvidia's growing focus on government partnerships, with Huang praising the Trump administration's policies while also expressing hope that Nvidia could regain access to the Chinese market, which he described as "very important" for the company's future.

OpenAI Acquires Sky, Bringing Apple Design Veterans Into the Fold

In other significant AI news this week, OpenAI announced the acquisition of Software Applications Incorporated, makers of "Sky" - a natural language interface for Mac computers. The deal brings several Apple design veterans to OpenAI, including Ari Weinstein, Conrad Kramer, Evans Hankey and Tang Tan - key figures who previously worked on Apple's Shortcuts feature and the Workflow app that preceded it.

"We're building a future where ChatGPT doesn't just respond to your prompts, it helps you get things done," said Nick Turley, VP & Head of ChatGPT, in a statement. "Sky's deep integration with the Mac accelerates our vision of bringing AI directly into the tools people use every day."

The acquisition follows OpenAI's introduction last week of ChatGPT Atlas, a new browser that aims to compete with Safari and Chrome by integrating ChatGPT's capabilities directly into the browsing experience. The Sky team's expertise in desktop integration could further enhance these capabilities, allowing ChatGPT to interact more seamlessly with desktop applications.

This acquisition represents a smaller but still strategic move for OpenAI, which made headlines earlier this year with its $6.5 billion acquisition of Jony Ive's AI device startup io. That partnership is expected to yield new AI-focused hardware products in 2026.

Looking Ahead

These developments highlight the rapid convergence of AI with government infrastructure, transportation systems, and everyday computing experiences. The next few months will be crucial as these partnerships move from announcements to implementation, potentially reshaping how we interact with technology across multiple domains.

As AI becomes more deeply integrated into critical infrastructure and everyday tools, questions about regulation, security, and accessibility will likely take center stage in industry discussions. We'll continue to follow these developments closely.