Saturday, June 21, 2025

vTrain Helps Companies Save Big on AI Training with Optimized GPU Usage

Artificial Intelligence. / Getty Images
Artificial Intelligence. / Getty Images

On Thursday, Min Soo Yoo’s team from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at KAIST announced the development of the simulation software “vTrain.” Designed to optimize GPU usage during the training of ultra-large AI models at Samsung Electronics’ Samsung Comprehensive Technology Institute, the tool boosts efficiency and reduces costs. Performance tests revealed that “vTrain” increased GPU utilization by over 10% compared to conventional methods while cutting training costs by more than 5%.

Yoo explained, “vTrain employs a profiling-based simulation technique that surpasses traditional empirical methods in both GPU utilization and cost reduction. We’ve made this tool open-source, which should help companies dramatically lower their expenses for training large language models.” The financial stakes in AI model training are enormous; for example, training ChatGPT-4 costs around $96,600,000.

Large language models (LLMs) typically require thousands of data center GPUs operating within expansive distributed systems. Beyond cost savings, vTrain can accurately predict LLM training times and rapidly explore distributed parallelization strategies. The team validated its accuracy by comparing vTrain’s predictions with actual training times across different LLMs in multi-GPU environments. It achieved an average absolute error of 8.37% on single nodes and 14.73% on multiple nodes.

Comparative experiments between conventional training strategies and vTrain’s optimized approach demonstrated a dual benefit: more than a 10% increase in GPU utilization and over a 5% reduction in training costs.

vTrain has diverse potential applications. It could optimize multi-tenant GPU cluster operations in cloud environments and help determine the ideal LLM size and training token count within specific computational constraints.

In a move that could accelerate AI research and development, the KAIST team, in partnership with Samsung’s Advanced Institute of Technology, has released the vTrain framework as open-source software. This release includes over 1,500 real-world training time measurements, offering a valuable resource for AI researchers and companies worldwide.

Hot this week

Japan’s Steel Giant Takes Over US Steel: What It Means for American Workers

Nippon Steel acquires U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion, ensuring U.S. government oversight and maintaining its headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Trump’s Ultimatum to Iran Jolts Oil Prices into Unsteady Climb

Oil prices rose slightly as markets reacted to Trump's ultimatum to Iran, with WTI and Brent crude experiencing minor gains.

Wall Street Wobbles After Powell Says No Rush on Rate Cuts

U.S. markets closed mixed after the Fed maintained interest rates, with tech stocks like Tesla and Nvidia gaining amid cautious investor sentiment.

Apple Joins Google in Map Export Request, Vows Flexible Compliance

Apple seeks South Korean approval to export high-precision map data, offering to accommodate government demands unlike Google.

Wall Street Takes a Dive as Tensions Rise Over Iran

The New York stock market fell sharply due to rising tensions in the Middle East and declines in major tech and solar stocks.

Topics

Japan’s Steel Giant Takes Over US Steel: What It Means for American Workers

Nippon Steel acquires U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion, ensuring U.S. government oversight and maintaining its headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Trump’s Ultimatum to Iran Jolts Oil Prices into Unsteady Climb

Oil prices rose slightly as markets reacted to Trump's ultimatum to Iran, with WTI and Brent crude experiencing minor gains.

Wall Street Wobbles After Powell Says No Rush on Rate Cuts

U.S. markets closed mixed after the Fed maintained interest rates, with tech stocks like Tesla and Nvidia gaining amid cautious investor sentiment.

Apple Joins Google in Map Export Request, Vows Flexible Compliance

Apple seeks South Korean approval to export high-precision map data, offering to accommodate government demands unlike Google.

Wall Street Takes a Dive as Tensions Rise Over Iran

The New York stock market fell sharply due to rising tensions in the Middle East and declines in major tech and solar stocks.

Brent and WTI Climb Following Heightened Concerns Over Iran Conflict

Oil prices surged amid rising tensions in the Middle East, with fears of disruptions to Iranian oil exports following Trump's return.

Why Stablecoins Struggle to Compete with Credit Cards in America

Stablecoins lack consumer incentives compared to credit cards, limiting adoption despite potential in specific payment areas.

Wall Street Bounces Back: Stocks Rally Amid Iran-Israel Ceasefire Hopes

US stock indices rebounded on the 16th as reports emerged of Iran seeking negotiations amidst ongoing conflicts.

Related Articles