Cal Poly launched its $3 million AI Factory on Thursday, Oct. 22, giving students and faculty access to advanced computing resources for developing and running artificial intelligence models using four NVIDIA AI supercomputers
The university unveiled the facility during its inaugural AI Day at the Swanson Center of Effort Conference Hall.
Campus leaders, including Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong, joined student researchers and NVIDIA executives at the daylong event, which featured presentations, research showcases and a digital countdown to activate the AI factory.
“It’s about connecting our students, faculty [and] staff with powerful new tools and strengthening our partnership between Cal Poly and NVIDIA,” Armstrong said during the ceremony.
Funded by Cal Poly’s Noyce School of Applied Computing and housed in Frank E. Pilling (Building 14), the facility provides students and faculty across all academic colleges with access to advanced machine-learning resources available at only a few universities nationwide, according to a Cal Poly press release.
Armstrong thanked NVIDIA Vice President of the Americas Charlie Wuischpard and emphasized Cal Poly’s interdisciplinary approach to education.
“If you think about polytechnic, it literally means skilled in many arts,” Armstrong said. “It reflects the belief that multiple disciplines must come together to solve the world’s most complex challenges.”
Armstrong also acknowledged Rep. Jimmy Panetta, who represents parts of California’s northern Central Coast, for presenting congressional recognition to Cal Poly for establishing the facility.
Armstrong acknowledged differing perspectives on AI on campus but emphasized the importance of understanding and adapting to the technology.
“We need people who will establish standards, set the guardrails and ensure that AI serves as a force for good,” Armstrong said. “I [know] our Cal Poly students, faculty and staff will be at the forefront of that work.”
NVIDIA Vice President Wuischpard discussed the growing use of artificial intelligence in robotics, health care and agriculture during his keynote address. Wuischpard said demand for computing power across industries often exceeds available data storage, making the on-campus AI factory a valuable resource for local academic research.
“This is the biggest transformation that we’re going to go through in our lifetimes,” Wuischpard told the audience. “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI. You might lose your job to a person that’s a better user of AI.”
Wuischpard praised Cal Poly’s “Learn by Doing” approach, emphasizing the importance of preparing students with practical AI skills.
“There are tens of thousands of companies that can use the skill sets that you’re all developing,” Wuischpard said.
Throughout the event, student researchers showcased projects using AI in agriculture and business.
Students in Cal Poly’s Master’s in Business Analytics program partnered with NVIDIA data scientist and Cal Poly graduate Jess Poirier to develop AI models that make predictions using more than 200 million rows of data.
“Because [the data set is] too big, we need help from the AI data centers that we have here on campus,” Bennan Davis, director of Cal Poly’s Master’s in Business Analytics program, said. “We need help from the professors, and we need help from NVIDIA.”
Computer science junior Sophie Kumar said having computer resources on campus could give students greater control over their research data.
“Where is your computing actually going? That’s pretty important. I don’t want my data handed off to other places,” Kumar said.
James Riggs, a statistics senior, said he visited the event to explore career options.
“My concentration is mostly AI, and that’s kind of what I hope to work in,” Riggs said. “I think my favorite [student showcase] was the multi-agent assistance for engineering students. I thought that was cool.”
Students and faculty will be able to access the AI Factory through the Cal Poly portal after completing a free training course, according to University Spokesperson Matt Lazier. The university’s Information Technology Services department is still working to integrate the course.
