IBM is stepping firmly into the AI era with the release of its latest high-performance computing system — the IBM z17 AI Mainframe. Announced Monday, this new generation of mainframe is built from the ground up to accelerate artificial intelligence workloads, including generative AI and AI agents, with enterprise-grade security and unmatched efficiency.
At the heart of the IBM z17 is the new Telum II processor, delivering massive improvements over its predecessor. IBM claims the z17 can handle up to 450 billion AI inference operations per day, a 50% performance leap from the IBM z16 launched in 2022.
Despite the perception that mainframes are legacy technology, 71% of Fortune 500 companies still rely on them, and the market continues to thrive — hitting an estimated $5.3 billion in 2024, according to Market Research Future.
Built with AI Agility in Mind
Tina Tarquinio, VP of product management and design for IBM Z, revealed the z17 has been five years in the making — long before OpenAI’s ChatGPT sparked a global AI boom. In that time, IBM collected over 2,000 hours of customer feedback to shape the system’s design.
“We’re purposely building in headroom and AI agility,” said Tarquinio. “As new models emerge, we want to be ready — bigger, faster, and smarter.”
Out of the box, the IBM z17 supports 48 IBM Spyre AI accelerator chips, with plans to scale that to 96 within 12 months. This will allow it to adapt seamlessly as AI models evolve, requiring more local memory and higher performance.
Energy Efficiency Meets High Performance
One of the standout features of the IBM z17 AI Mainframe is its energy efficiency. Compared to other platforms performing similar AI workloads, IBM says the z17 uses five and a half times less energy, while delivering 7.5x more AI acceleration on-chip.
“We don’t just want to be powerful — we want to be efficient,” Tarquinio noted, calling it her “favorite child” among the system’s many upgrades.
Integration & Open-Source Support
In addition to performance gains, the IBM z17 is fully equipped to integrate with existing hardware, software, and open-source tools, making it easier for enterprises to bring AI workloads into their infrastructure without starting from scratch.
This approach could help streamline AI adoption across industries like banking, insurance, healthcare, and logistics — sectors already deeply tied to mainframe operations.
Availability
The IBM z17 AI Mainframe will be generally available on June 8, giving enterprises a powerful new tool as AI continues to transform the digital landscape.
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