About: Together AI

Together AI presents an advanced cloud platform designed specifically for the development, deployment, and scaling of generative AI applications. With a remarkable $102.5M Series A funding, this platform leverages state-of-the-art AI research to provide an unparalleled inference stack through efficient API calls. Among its notable innovations are Cocktail SGD, FlashAttention 2, and sub-quadratic model architectures, including the Monarch Mixer. This unique architecture, developed in partnership with Hazy Research, significantly enhances efficiency by improving parameter utilization in models like BERT by 25% and accelerating training processes by threefold. Together AI is committed to fostering open-source projects, exemplified by its support for RedPajama, and offers a comprehensive suite of tools including custom model creation and GPU clusters. This integrated platform empowers developers to build robust AI solutions, making it invaluable for businesses looking to harness the power of generative AI for diverse applications, from natural language processing to innovative content generation.

Review: Together AI

Introduction

Together AI is an end-to-end platform designed for the full lifecycle of generative AI development. It serves developers, enterprises, and research teams looking to build, deploy, and scale advanced AI models. With its recent $102.5M Series A funding round and backing by cutting-edge AI research, the platform is gaining attention in the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI. This review examines how Together AI stands out by offering a comprehensive cloud solution engineered for speed, flexibility, and control in AI development.

Key Features

Together AI packs an impressive suite of functionalities to support your AI initiatives. Some of its core features include:

• Rapid Inference and Training: The platform boasts the fastest inference stack utilizing custom API calls powered by advanced inference kernels, which are up to 75% faster than base implementations.
• Innovative Model Architectures: It integrates breakthrough research such as Cocktail SGD, FlashAttention 2, and the Monarch Mixer—an architecture that enhances parameter efficiency and speeds up training significantly.
• Comprehensive AI Lifecycle Support: From out-of-the-box pre-trained models and open-source initiatives like RedPajama to full fine-tuning capabilities and custom model builds, Together AI provides an end-to-end solution.
• Flexibility and Deployment Options: With dedicated instances and a serverless API, users can deploy models in enterprise VPCs with full control over IP. This ensures both performance consistency and data safety.
• Scalable GPU Clusters: Powered by top-tier NVIDIA GPUs (GB200, H200, and H100), the platform features an accelerated software stack and advanced kernel collections that minimize training times and costs.

Pricing and Value

Together AI offers a usage-based pricing model, with rates starting from $1.75 per hour for GPU cluster use. This pricing structure makes it attractive for enterprises and developers who need to scale their workloads dynamically. Considering the expansive range of features—from rapid model deployment to sophisticated fine-tuning and scalable infrastructure—the platform offers a competitive value proposition, especially for users looking for high performance and control in their AI projects.

Pros and Cons

• Pros:
  • Comprehensive end-to-end platform covering the entire generative AI lifecycle.
  • State-of-the-art technology with innovations like Cocktail SGD, FlashAttention 2, and Monarch Mixer.
  • Flexible deployment options including dedicated instances and serverless APIs.
  • High-performance GPU clusters powered by the latest NVIDIA hardware.
  • Supports open-source initiatives and offers full model ownership for enhanced security and customization.
• Cons:
  • The advanced features and infrastructure may pose a steep learning curve for newcomers.
  • Highly technical setup that might be more suited for experienced developers and enterprises rather than casual users.
  • Reliance on specific hardware (NVIDIA GPUs) might limit flexibility for some users.

Final Verdict

Together AI is a robust platform ideally suited for enterprises, experienced developers, and research teams that require high-speed inference, customizable fine-tuning, and scalable infrastructure. Its cutting-edge technology and comprehensive end-to-end support make it a strong contender in the competitive generative AI space. However, the technical depth and advanced features may be daunting for casual users or those new to AI development. Overall, if you are looking to push the boundaries of generative AI with a platform engineered for performance and flexibility, Together AI is well worth considering.