The U. will join forces with two private companies: NVIDIA and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.<\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Researcher Paul Scesa holds a bottle containing a coral compound made in the lab at the University of Utah on Thursday, June 9, 2022, using genetically engineered yeast that could potentially create a drug to treat cancer. The U. announced on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 that it’s expanding its artificial intelligence efforts to try to speed up cancer research. <\/p>\n
The University of Utah <\/a>is looking to put another $50 million toward artificial intelligence \u2014 with part of the aim being to speed up cancer research and get possible cures to patients sooner. <\/p>\n The latest AI initiative<\/a> from the state\u2019s flagship research institution was announced Tuesday at a board of trustees meeting, where it received unanimous approval and heaps of praise.<\/p>\n \u201cThis builds on something that\u2019s in the DNA of this university: innovation,\u201d said Manish Parashar, who was named the inaugural chief artificial intelligence officer<\/a> for the school earlier this year. <\/p>\n The project is still in its early phases, but Parashar said the partnership will involve the U. and two private companies: NVIDIA<\/a> and Hewlett Packard Enterprise<\/a>, two giants in the industry that specialize in computing. <\/p>\n NVIDIA would provide the chips needed, and Hewlett would come in with computing infrastructure and support. And, ultimately, two physical facilities are planned: One on campus and one elsewhere in the state that could both be expanded. <\/p>\n The U. didn\u2019t detail how much money those companies would provide. <\/p>\n The school, itself, plans to contribute $3 million a year for five years (totaling $15 million). And the on-campus Huntsman Cancer Institute<\/a>, which is mainly funded by Utah\u2019s prominent Huntsman family and its foundation, would add another $2 million a year for five years (totaling $10 million). <\/p>\n (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Huntsman mobile cancer-screening bus makes a brief stop in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. The bus is dispatched to numerous underserved communities around the state.<\/p>\n The remaining $25 million should come through a combination of contributions from the companies, said U. President Taylor Randall<\/a>, along with a planned request to the Utah Legislature during the next legislative session.<\/p>\n The project comes after the U. dedicated $100 million<\/a> to \u201cresponsible AI\u201d in 2023, plus <\/b>a <\/b>memorandum the state signed earlier this year with NVIDIA<\/a> that focused on higher education and preparing students for a tech-driven workforce.<\/p>\n Randall said this latest partnership would provide computing power for the entire Utah System of Higher Education<\/a> to use and learn from, as well as to start-up companies in the state.<\/p>\n