SAN FRANCISCO — Mayo Clinic has signed Silicon Valley tech startup Cerebras as its first generative AI partner, the health system announced Monday.

The health system — known for its cutting-edge research and willingness to partner with tech companies — will give Cerebras millions of dollars to help build technology tools based on Mayo’s trove of de-identified patient data, leaders announced at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Mayo and Cerebras did not disclose the dollar amount, but Cerebras said it was a multimillion, multi-year contract.

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With roughly 380 employees, Cerebras builds and sells supercomputers specifically designed for AI applications across several industries — pitting the upstart in direct competition with the market leader Nvidia Corp. Life sciences giants including GSK have used its technology for drug discovery, and it has partnered with a health network in United Arab Emirates, but this is Cerebras’ first AI contract with a U.S. health system. The deal gives Mayo access to Cerebras’ supercomputers as well as a Cerebras team to help develop health-tuned models; Mayo will then own whatever they build.

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