IBM is relaunching its Watson platform as Watsonx, an AI development studio for enterprise customers. The platform includes a range of foundation and open-source models that can be used by companies to train their own AI platforms. Watsonx provides AI builders with training models that have an auditable data lineage, including datasets for generating code, handling industry-specific databases, and planning for natural disasters. IBM has already collaborated with NASA to use the geospatial foundation model to convert satellite images into maps that track changes from natural disasters and climate change.
Watsonx is designed to give enterprises a way to build, train, scale, and deploy an AI platform. Similar to NVIDIA’s AI Foundations program, Watsonx provides a robust set of training models for companies to use. While Watson initially gained fame for beating human competitors on Jeopardy, IBM’s long-term goal was to use Watson’s ability to simulate a human thought process to help doctors diagnose patients and recommend treatments, which did not come to fruition.
Watsonx is expected to be released in stages, with the Watsonx.ai studio debuting in July and additional features debuting later this year. With IBM’s new AI training program, companies may soon find themselves interacting with a part of Watson themselves, enabling the development of more advanced and innovative AI applications.
