NVIDIA’s new DGX Spark, a mini AI supercomputer for the desktop, begins its rollout. The first unit has been delivered to Elon Musk at Starbase, showcasing a leap forward in local AI capabilities.
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A Pocket-Sized AI Supercomputer Arrives at Starbase
In a setting more familiar with rocket engines than computers, NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang personally handed over the first DGX Spark to Elon Musk. This event took place at Starbase, Texas, during the 11th test flight of the Starship rocket.
This gesture echoes back to 2016, when Huang presented Musk with the first DGX-1, initially intended for the then-emerging OpenAI. Nine years later, the goal remains to put supercomputing power into the hands of those who are pioneering the future of AI.
A Powerful Machine Weighing Just 2.6 Pounds
The DGX Spark stands out with its compact size: just slightly larger than a book and weighing about 2.6 pounds (around 1.2 kg). Despite its small form, it packs a GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, 128 GB of unified CPU-GPU memory, up to 4 TB NVMe storage, and full connectivity options including USB-C, HDMI, and Wi-Fi 7. It can deliver up to a petaflop of AI performance, capable of running local models with up to 200 billion parameters, bypassing the need for cloud computations.
Software Suite Tailored for Developers
The Spark comes equipped with NVIDIA’s complete AI software stack (CUDA, frameworks, libraries, NIM microservices), making it ready to use right out of the box. It operates on DGX OS, a custom Linux based on Ubuntu, and is targeted at developers, researchers, and creatives who want to prototype or fine-tune models locally. Whether it’s AI vision, image generation, chatbots, or robotics, the DGX Spark aims to cover the entire spectrum of modern AI with minimal latency and without the dependency on a data center.
Available Starting Tomorrow
Starting tomorrow, October 15, the DGX Spark will be available for $3,999. It will be sold directly through NVIDIA’s website and through partners such as Dell, ASUS, Lenovo, and MSI, each offering their own versions. Early units have already been shipped to entities like Google, Hugging Face, NYU, and Refik Anadol. The stated goal is to democratize access to AI power that was once reserved for large-scale infrastructures.
What’s the Verdict?
By delivering a DGX Spark to Musk, NVIDIA is playing both on symbolism and substance: the era of powerful, accessible local AI is here. It’s not a consumer PC, but a specialized work tool aimed at a specific niche. At $3,999, it’s certainly a premium device, but with a clear objective: to bring AI out of the labs and onto the desks. It remains to be seen if developers will embrace this tool.