Verizon plans to back Generative AI connectivity, compute demandVerizon plans to back Generative AI connectivity, compute demand

Verizon just unveiled its strategy for tapping into the exploding demand for network capacity and computational power brought about by the growth of generative AI.

Dubbed Verizon AI Connect, the initiative consists of a suite of services that would tap into the telecom giant’s existing assets, including network connectivity, edge computing and space, which will be leveraged to satisfy the AI needs of hyperscalers, cloud providers and global enterprises. 

“Verizon's leadership in the enterprise-connectivity market is poised to become even more crucial as AI applications become more widespread among end users,” Verizon Business CEO Kyle Malady said on a fourth-quarter earnings call, during which the company unveiled the strategy. “We believe Verizon will serve as the essential link between these GenAI applications and the firms who utilize them.” 

In a separate announcement, Verizon noted that while current demand centers around training AI models, in the next five years, AI workloads are expected to migrate to real-time decision-making, or inference, creating an urgent need for low-latency connectivity, compute and security. 

“As AI shifts from training to deep deployment, the need for distributed computing will become increasingly important for real-time decisions and predictions,” Malady said. “We have thousands of distributed telco facilities, many of which already have power, space and cooling available for this compute at the edge.”

In addition to the existing telecom facilities, Verizon controls up to 200 acres of land, much of it already zoned for data centers, which can be developed as demand increases.

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