Born out of necessity
Everywhere you look online, but especially LinkedIn, it would appear the world is now flooded with AI experts. However, we're not entirely convinced that this can be true; especially when you dive deep into some of the content that is published or sit through a few dubious conference presentations. Of course, we know it's now very difficult to tell if the content published is human, AI created or a hybrid of both. The AI guru's and snake oil sales people can be very difficult to spot.
ikigai is made up of a small group of specialists who have built AI products and services from the ground up. From the building and repurposing of data centres, through to the build of GPU Super-clusters and all that goes with them, to the complimentary services and solutions needed to train, tune and deploy the various AI models and frameworks. Our specialists naturally pre-date AI and have many years in cloud computing (IaaS, PaaS & SaaS) as well a infrastructure, networking and software. If you need trusted insight or advice, you're in good hands, we have the industry scars to prove it.
What we do
ikigai is a trusted advisory offering independent, knowledge and insight about all aspects of the AI technology space. AI is changing the world and it is doing so in ways we can't yet fully comprehend. Its impact will be far reaching socially, professionally, commercially, environmentally and ethically. Like it or not, humanity is moving at speed into unchartered territory.
We exist to help enterprise business leaders, investors and start-ups to make sense of this fast emerging sector so they can make better, balanced, wiser decisions. This can only be achieved by being aware of the ethical, sustainable, technical and commercial elements that accompany the adoption of AI. We want everyone to be fully informed so they are able to make decisions they will be proud to look back on in the future.
Business leaders have a duty to educate themselves on all aspects of AI, cut through the hype and understand the facts. Whether you just need to chat with an expert to find out more or you're in need of a longer-term consulting engagement, we're here to help you make sense of it all.
Our Vision
To ensure all businesses, wishing to adopt AI, have the wisdom to do so.
Our Mission
To provide independent, accurate, trusted information and advice about AI and the associated eco-system, covering ethical, environmental, technical, social and commercial factors, enabling organisations to make the right decisions for their business, their customers and for humankind in general.
Why We Do It
We want organisations, fortunate enough to have access to this technology, to use it well.
Ethically, sustainably, safely, for the benefit of themselves, the population and the planet.
Understanding the AI Ecosystem
AI is not possible without access to the technology that enables it. There is a very wide and inter-connected AI eco-system, from hardware through to software. However, it all comes down to the advanced silicon chips at the heart of this compute power; the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU). These GPUs are in short supply and are very, very expensive. They draw huge amounts of energy for processing data and need to be kept cool, as they run very hot.
They need to be housed in purpose built data centres, which are currently only obtainable to organisations who have the wealth and capacity to purchase, build and house them. Some (not all) of these organisations, namely the cloud service providers, are offering access to these GPUs on a rental basis (Infrastructure-as-a-Service, IaaS) to enable other organisations, large or small, commercial or not-for-profit, to help make their ideas a reality through this technology. Others are buying up this technology purely for their own purposes.
The large eco-system that surrounds the GPU includes energy sources, financial provenance, sovereignty, compliance, most of which are not immediately transparent to the public. Organisations, wishing to adopt AI, need to know all the facts and have them made available to them. Only by doing so can they be confident they are partnering with the right providers who, ideally, share the same ethical values as themselves.
Organisations we are very proud to work with and for.
