IBM and AMD have announced a joint development agreement to advance cloud confidential computing and artificial intelligence (AI).

Cloud computing and AI are two of the most important and disruptive technology trends in today’s world. Especially as the pandemic swept the globe, companies raced to adopt cloud computing as a way to maintain productivity as employees worked from home.

Confidential computing is widely considered to be an important step to further cloud adoption. Confidential computing focuses on protecting data while it is being accessed and processed, not just when it is stored or in transit.

Similarly, AI is stands to be one of the transformational technologies of the 21st century. Companies all over the globe are racing to develop true AI, as well as the safeguards necessary to safely deploy it.

IBM and AMD, two of the biggest names in tech, are partnering on both technologies in a multi-year joint venture.

“The commitment of AMD to technological innovation aligns with our mission to develop and accelerate the adoption of the hybrid cloud to help connect, secure and power our digital world,” said Dario Gil, Director of IBM Research. “IBM is focused on giving our clients choice, agility and security in our hybrid cloud offerings through advanced research, development and scaling of new technologies.”

“This agreement between AMD and IBM aligns well with our long-standing commitment to collaborating with leaders in the industry,” said Mark Papermaster, executive vice president and CTO, AMD. “AMD is excited to extend our work with IBM on AI, accelerating data center workloads, and improving security across the cloud.”