Section one: Contracting authority/entity
one.1) Name and addresses
University of Bristol
4th Floor, Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane
Bristol
BS1 5DS
Telephone
+44 01179289000
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKK11 - Bristol, City of
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Education
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Isambard AI
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 44316400 - Hardware
two.1.3) Type of contract
Supplies
two.1.4) Short description
Isambard-AI is a new GPU-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) computing system to deliver a national AI Research Resource (AIRR) for the UK, as recommended in the “Independent Review of The Future of Compute: Final report and recommendations ”, and to support the Frontier AI safety taskforce. This new AIRR will support several initiatives, particularly on AI safety and foundational models, where the UK aims to establish a leadership position. Isambard-AI will be delivered as a “self-contained unit”.
The RFP and Contract covers, in summary, the following mandatory requirements:
1. The scale-out GPU-based production system
2. An early access GPU-based system with AI storage
3. High performance network fabric
4. System management support for multi-tenancy:
5. Support for 5 years of service
6. One or more self-contained units
7. Energy efficiency
8. Storage solutions optimised for AI training and inference
9. AI supercomputing facility access and gateway nodes
10. Data Centre Connectivity and Edge Router for Services
11. UPS
12. Data transfer and mover tool
13. Software and licenses
14. Security monitoring, auditing and compliance
15. Monitoring, reporting and RAS tools
16. Eventual decommissioning
17. Training / handover
18. Environmental impact
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £175,875,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKK11 - Bristol, City of
Main site or place of performance
Emersons Green, Bristol BS16 7FS
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
A call for a mini competition was made on 13 September 2023 under the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (“SUPC”) Framework Agreement for the Supply of Servers, Storage and Solutions National Agreement (“SSSNA Framework Agreement”) by issue of a Request for Proposals ("RFP") to all of the Lot 4 (Solutions – HPC and/or DIC) Panel members. The SSSNA Framework was established pursuant to the Find a Tender Notice reference 2021/S 000-027936 published on 8 November 2021. Lot 4 panel members were offered a site visit to view the site for the upcoming Isambard 3 Tier-2 HPC service at the National Composites Centre within the Bristol and Bath Science Park. The RFP identified the mandatory requirements (scored on a Pass/Fail basis), the scored desirable requirements, set out the award criteria and scoring methodology and provided a response template and draft call off contract based on the SSSNA Framework Agreement. The RFP gave Lot 4 panel members 2 weeks to respond (until 5pm Wednesday 27 September 2023), the evaluation concluded on 2 October 2023 and a voluntary standstill period concluded on 31 October 2023. Delivery of an initial 150+ GPUs and site preparation is required in early 2024 to enable Phase 1 of Isambard-AI to go live by the end of March 2024, in order to meet milestones set by the Department of Science, Information and Technology (“DSIT”) in the grant funding of Isambard-AI via UKRI. DSIT’s plans for the new AI Research Resource at the University were announced as part of a £900m investment to transform the UK’s computing capacity, by press release of 13 September 2023.
Only one tender was received in response to the RFP (from Hewlett-Packard Limited trading as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, the provider of Isambard 3). The University proceeded to evaluate the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise tender response, confirmed that it met the mandatory requirements and scored the response to the desirable requirements (see below). Standstill letters were issued to the Lot 4 panel members on 18 October 2023. The call-off contract in relation to the supply of Isambard-AI with Hewlett-Packard Limited (“the Contract”) has been finalised and is ready for signature.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: TECHNICAL CAPABILITY / Weighting: 80%
Quality criterion - Name: Contract & Account Management / Weighting: 10%
Quality criterion - Name: Sustainability / Weighting: 10%
Price - Weighting: 80/20
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations
Explanation:
This VEAT notice is issued prior to entering into the Contract and aims to ensure that publicity is given to the University’s intentions, the nature of the Contract and the procurement route before the Contract is signed.
No prior publication of a notice was made specifically for the Contract. The University relies on the contract notice published on Find a Tender reference 2021/S 000-027936 for the SSSNA Framework Agreement (“the Framework Notice”) and considers it legitimate to award the Contract without prior publication of a notice specific to Isambard-AI as it has used a compliant route to market under the SSSNA Framework Agreement in accordance with regulation 33 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“PCR 2015”).
SUPC has confirmed that call off contracts awarded to date under the SSSNA Framework, including the Contract, fall below the total estimated value (of £500,000,000) set out in the Framework Notice.
A call for a mini competition was made on 13 September 2023 under the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (“SUPC”) Framework Agreement for the Supply of Servers, Storage and Solutions National Agreement (“SSSNA Framework Agreement”) by issue of a Request for Proposals ("RFP") to all of the Lot 4 (Solutions – HPC and/or DIC) Panel members. The SSSNA Framework was established pursuant to the Find a Tender Notice reference 2021/S 000-027936 published on 8 November 2021. Lot 4 panel members were offered a site visit to view the site for the upcoming Isambard 3 Tier-2 HPC service at the National Composites Centre within the Bristol and Bath Science Park. The RFP identified the mandatory requirements (scored on a Pass/Fail basis), the scored desirable requirements, set out the award criteria and scoring methodology and provided a response template and draft call off contract based on the SSSNA Framework Agreement. The RFP gave Lot 4 panel members 2 weeks to respond (until 5pm Wednesday 27 September 2023), the evaluation concluded on 2 October 2023 and a voluntary standstill period concluded on 31 October 2023. Delivery of an initial 150+ GPUs and site preparation is required in early 2024 to enable Phase 1 of Isambard-AI to go live by the end of March 2024, in order to meet milestones set by the Department of Science, Information and Technology (“DSIT”) in the grant funding of Isambard-AI via UKRI. DSIT’s plans for the new AI Research Resource at the University were announced as part of a £900m investment to transform the UK’s computing capacity, by press release of 13 September 2023.
The University has also satisfied itself, in tailoring the call-off terms (as set out in the SSSNA Framework Agreement) to the RFP requirement and finalising the Contract, the amendments made to the SSSNA Framework call off terms and conditions are non-substantial and permitted by regulation 33 and general principles, including the principles of equal treatment and proportionality and the inherent flexibility, whether pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(a) or Regulation 33 of the PCR 2015, to agree non-substantial amendments.
four.1.3) Information about a framework agreement
The procurement involves the establishment of a framework agreement
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract/concession
Title
Isambard AI
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract/concession
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
18 October 2023
five.2.2) Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Hewlett-Packard Limited (trading as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise)
Ground Floor, 210 Wharfedale Road, Winnersh Triangle, Berkshire, RG41 5TP
Berkshire
RG41 5TP
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKJ11 - Berkshire
The contractor/concessionaire is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: £175,875,000
five.2.5) Information about subcontracting
The contract/lot/concession is likely to be subcontracted
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Isambard AI
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
Royal Courts of Justice
The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom