What is Jetson Orin Nano Super, Nvidia’s Affordable Pocket Seize Supercomputer?
Nvidia, the global leader in GPUs, unveiled its new compact generative AI supercomputer—Jetson Orin Nano Super—on Tuesday, December 17. The device is designed to deliver high-performance AI capabilities in a smaller, more affordable package, starting at just $249 (approx. ₹21,147). The developer kit is compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand, making it ideal for developers, students, and AI enthusiasts working on edge AI projects.
What is Jetson Orin Nano Super?
Described by Nvidia as a “compact yet powerful computer,” the Jetson Orin Nano Super is built to bring generative AI capabilities to small-scale edge devices. It delivers up to 67 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), marking a 1.7x improvement over its predecessor. This level of performance supports demanding AI tasks such as vision transformers, large language models (LLMs), and multi-modal AI systems.
The supercomputer features a memory bandwidth of 102 GB/s and a CPU clock speed of 1.7 GHz. While it lacks built-in storage, users can boot the system using a microSD card—similar to the Raspberry Pi.
What’s in the Developer Kit?
The Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit includes an 8GB module based on Nvidia’s Ampere GPU architecture, boasting 1,024 CUDA cores and 32 tensor cores for high-efficiency parallel computing. It runs on a 6-core ARM Cortex-A78 CPU, and the carrier board includes multiple I/O options: four USB 3.2 ports, two camera connectors, Gigabit Ethernet, and M.2 expansion slots.
The system is powered by the Nvidia AI software stack, ensuring robust support for AI workloads across industries. The compact design makes it easy to integrate into various applications.
Use Cases Across Industries
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang introduced the device by highlighting its ability to run CUDA, cuDNN, and TensorRT, enabling developers to build agentic AI systems capable of reasoning and planning. Potential applications span multiple sectors:
- Smart Surveillance: Real-time object and facial recognition using connected cameras.
- Robotics: Supports autonomous navigation and task execution in manufacturing and logistics.
- Healthcare: Can perform routine delivery or sorting tasks in hospitals.
- Retail & Smart Homes: Powers AI-driven analytics, chatbots, and home automation.
- Education & Research: Offers an affordable platform for students and researchers to explore advanced AI.
Despite its small size, the Jetson Orin Nano Super brings supercomputer-level AI performance to compact setups, democratizing access to generative AI across industries.