UF Unveils Nation’s Fastest University-Owned Supercomputer, HiPerGator 4

GAINESVILLE, FL - October 14, 2025 The University of Florida on Tuesday unveiled HiPerGator 4, the fastest supercomputer owned by a U.S. university, at a launch event on its East Campus.

The system upgrade replaces the prior NVIDIA DGX A100 “Ampere” SuperPOD with a DGX B200 “Blackwell” SuperPOD, delivering 30× greater speed over the previous generation. The new machine is composed of 63 DGX B200 nodes, each with eight Blackwell GPUs, totaling 504 GPUs.

The $33 million installation marks a flagship milestone in UF’s broader AI strategy, sparked in 2020, which seeks to integrate AI education and research across disciplines. At the unveiling, guest demonstrations showcased how students are already using AI-powered systems in robotics, synthetic biology, vehicle design, and engineering projects.

HiPerGator 4 has already earned top-tier rankings: No. 3 globally in speed and No. 4 in efficiency per the MLCommons benchmark. Over 60% of UF’s $1.33 billion research budget supports projects dependent on the supercomputer.

UF’s AI ecosystem includes over 100 new AI faculty hires and 230 courses in AI and data science. Its “NaviGator AI” service provides access to more than 40 large language models for faculty, students, and staff.

Leadership described HiPerGator 4 as a national model for leveraging AI in higher education, addressing challenges from health and resilience to technology-driven economic growth.

*Sources: *https://news.ufl.edu/2025/10/hipergator-4-unveiling/