Empire AI Beta Begins Supporting Researchers Across New York’s Universities

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Off the Wire Press Releases
Aug. 5, 2026 — Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Empire AI Beta is officially online, giving researchers at New York’s leading public and private universities access to the most powerful academic research computer in the country and marking a major milestone in New York’s effort to lead the nation in responsible artificial intelligence for the public good.
As convened by Governor Hochul and consortium partners, the Empire AI initiative is already serving as a national model for public-interest AI use. As the federal National Science Foundation has announced a major investment to support regional AI infrastructure and shared research capacity through their new State and Regional AI Infrastructure Hubs initiative, Empire AI is already powering world-class research and serving academics, students and communities across the state.
“New York State built Empire AI to show that artificial intelligence can be developed for the public good and with Empire AI Beta officially online, New York is giving our researchers the most powerful academic AI research computer in the country,” Governor Hochul said. “The National Science Foundation’s new hubs embrace the same core principle behind Empire AI — when government, universities, philanthropy and industry come together, they can deliver outstanding results.”
Empire AI Board Chairman Tom Secunda said, “Empire AI is showing the nation what dedicated partners across government, research institutions, and philanthropy can build together: a scientific asset no institution could create on its own, advancing the public good. Thanks to Governor Hochul’s leadership and vision, New York is setting the standard for how the United States can build and maintain AI infrastructure by researchers and for researchers.”
Empire AI Research Computing Director Kiran Keshav said, “Turning on Beta is a major leap forward for Empire AI and for academic research across New York. Researchers who were once limited by access to computing power can now ask bigger questions, test more ambitious ideas and move faster from theory to discovery. From medical diagnostics and climate modeling to safer infrastructure and more trustworthy AI systems, this system will help New York’s researchers do work that would not otherwise be possible.”
Housed at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Empire AI Beta is a $40 million NVIDIA-powered supercomputer that dramatically expands the computing power available to academic researchers across New York State. The system delivers an 11-fold increase in AI training capacity, a 40-fold boost in AI inference and an 8-fold expansion in data storage compared to Empire AI Alpha, the consortium’s initial system launched in 2024. With over 300 research projects already queued up to use the system, Beta will accelerate work across fields including health care, climate science, advanced manufacturing, education, cybersecurity, public safety and other areas that directly benefit New Yorkers.
The launch of Beta represents the next major step in Empire AI’s phased buildout. Alpha, the consortium’s initial system made possible by philanthropic support from the Simons Foundation, has already supported more than 130 research projects and hundreds of researchers across New York. Beta now brings a transformative increase in capacity, while construction continues on Empire AI’s permanent, full-scale Gamma facility at the University at Buffalo, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
Once complete, the Gamma facility will also be the most efficient high-powered computing center in the nation. By integrating into University at Buffalo’s buildout of a thermal energy network in a closed loop system, process heat from Empire AI will be used to heat buildings on campus, dramatically improving the school’s ability to meet net zero goals.
Empire AI member institutions include the State University of New York, the City University of New York, Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Flatiron Institute at the Simons Foundation.
The Governor announced Empire AI in her 2024 State of the State to create a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence center at the State University at Buffalo to be used by New York’s leading institutions to promote responsible research and development, create jobs, and unlock AI opportunities focused on public good. With Empire AI Beta fully online, New York is already delivering on the computing power, institutional partnership and research capacity that NSF is looking to replicate.
Empire AI is backed by more than $500 million in public and private funding, and is made up of 10 member universities and research institutions. In May 2025, Governor Hochul secured funding to expand access for SUNY researchers at the State University of New York at Albany, State University of New York at Binghamton, State University of New York at Buffalo and State University of New York at Stony Brook, and support the addition of new members including the University of Rochester, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. They joined the seven founding members of Empire AI: SUNY, CUNY, Columbia University, Cornell University, New York University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Flatiron Institute.
In her 2026 State of the State agenda, Governor Hochul proposed the launch of Empire AI Beta, which will accelerate Empire AI’s performance to 11 times its former scale, making it the world’s most advanced academic supercomputer. Governor Hochul also announced a record-breaking gift to the State University of New York at Binghamton to create the first independent university AI research center in the United States, the Center for AI Responsibility and Research at Binghamton University. The $30 million philanthropic gift, the largest academic gift in the university’s history, is coupled with a $25 million research capital investment by SUNY.
More from HPCwire: State of New York Invests $40M to Launch Empire AI Beta with NVIDIA Blackwell Supercomputing
Source: Governor Kathy Hochul, State of New York

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