What is Together AI?

1. Introduction to Together AI

Overview of Together AI

Together AI, founded in San Francisco in 2022, is a research-driven company focused on revolutionizing generative AI through an open-source philosophy. By providing developers with cutting-edge tools and models, it empowers organizations of all sizes to create, fine-tune, and deploy AI applications seamlessly. With over $100 million in funding from prominent investors such as Salesforce Ventures and NVIDIA, Together AI has rapidly gained recognition as a leader in the AI ecosystem.

The company’s mission is ambitious: to build the fastest and most efficient cloud platform for generative AI. By prioritizing transparency and innovation, Together AI aims to democratize access to AI technologies while addressing critical challenges like scalability, cost, and reliability.

Together AI's Unique Value Proposition

What sets Together AI apart is its unwavering commitment to open-source principles. Unlike proprietary platforms, it ensures developers retain full ownership of their models, offering flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in. Its suite of tools combines high performance, scalability, and cost efficiency, making it suitable for both startups and large enterprises.

The platform’s emphasis on developer-friendly solutions includes serverless APIs, dedicated endpoints, and advanced GPU clusters optimized for demanding workloads. By leveraging innovations like FlashAttention-3 and speculative decoding, Together AI delivers faster inference and training speeds at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional providers.

2. The History of Together AI

Founding Vision

The vision behind Together AI stems from its founders' belief in the transformative power of open-source AI. Spearheaded by Vipul Ved Prakash, Ce Zhang, and their team of AI pioneers, the company was built on the principle that transparent and accessible AI systems drive better innovation and societal outcomes. Their combined expertise in generative AI and distributed computing laid the foundation for a platform designed to empower both researchers and developers globally. This collaborative ethos extends to the company’s partnerships with organizations like MongoDB and Hugging Face, which reflect its dedication to fostering a thriving open-source community.

Milestones and Growth

Since its inception, Together AI has achieved remarkable growth. A significant milestone was its $106 million funding round led by Salesforce Ventures in 2024, which highlighted investor confidence in the platform’s potential. Developer adoption has soared, with over 45,000 registered users leveraging its tools for various AI applications.

Additionally, Together AI’s influence in reshaping the AI landscape is evident in its contributions to models like RedPajama and its integration with major frameworks like LangChain and MongoDB. These achievements underscore its role as a key player in advancing open-source generative AI.

3. Core Technologies and Innovations

Together AI Inference Engine

Together AI’s Inference Engine is a cornerstone of its technological innovations, enabling developers to deploy and manage AI models with unprecedented efficiency. The platform supports serverless endpoints for flexibility and dedicated endpoints for high-performance, consistent workloads. This dual approach caters to a wide range of use cases, from small-scale applications to enterprise-level operations.

The Inference Engine incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as FlashAttention-3, which optimizes memory utilization and speeds up large language model (LLM) processing. Another key feature, speculative decoding, improves response time by predicting and caching probable next tokens during inference. These innovations result in faster throughput and significantly reduced latency, making Together AI one of the fastest inference platforms available today.

For instance, businesses leveraging the Together AI Inference Engine report a reduction in latency and operational cost savings. These features make the platform a vital tool for companies aiming to launch responsive, AI-driven applications efficiently.

GPU Cluster Technology

The GPU Cluster Technology offered by Together AI sets a new standard for distributed training and model fine-tuning. These clusters, powered by NVIDIA’s H100 and A100 GPUs, provide high-speed, interconnected systems optimized for AI workloads. The inclusion of 3.2 Tbps InfiniBand networking ensures seamless communication between GPUs, which is critical for scaling large AI models.

Together AI’s clusters come pre-configured with advanced software stacks, including the Together Kernel Collection and FlashAttention-3, which together improve training speed by up to 9x compared to traditional setups. Additionally, the platform allows flexible deployment, with clusters ranging from 16 GPUs for small teams to over 10,000 GPUs for enterprise-scale operations.

These clusters have been used in high-impact projects, such as training custom large language models (LLMs) and fine-tuning proprietary systems. Customers report substantial improvements in model accuracy and efficiency, with training times reduced by more than 50%. This makes Together AI’s GPU clusters an essential resource for organizations building cutting-edge AI solutions.

4. Open-Source Contributions

Models and Datasets

Together AI’s contributions to the open-source community are transformative. At the forefront is the RedPajama project, a series of models built on the RedPajama-Data-30T, the largest publicly available pre-training dataset. This dataset, with over 30 trillion tokens, has been a foundational resource for more than 500 generative AI models. Other noteworthy models include Striped Hyena, which improves computational efficiency, and Monarch Mixer, designed for longer-context tasks. These models have been adopted across various industries, from healthcare to finance, demonstrating the versatility and utility of Together AI’s research.

The company’s commitment extends beyond datasets. Together AI actively supports developers by offering tools like the Together Cookbook, a collection of practical examples and workflows for implementing open-source models. This fosters innovation and accessibility, allowing even smaller organizations to leverage advanced AI capabilities.

Research and Community Impact

Together AI’s research focuses on tackling some of the most pressing challenges in AI development. Innovations like Cocktail SGD reduce network bottlenecks in distributed training environments, while sub-quadratic architectures enable faster processing of longer input sequences. These advancements are critical for the next generation of AI applications.

Collaboration with the wider AI community is a hallmark of Together AI’s strategy. Partnerships with Hugging Face, MongoDB, and academic institutions have led to the development of practical tools , which integrate seamlessly with platforms such as MongoDB Atlas for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). By sharing its research and tools, Together AI empowers developers worldwide to build robust and innovative solutions.

5. Together AI Products and Services

Product Offerings

Together AI’s product suite includes solutions tailored to meet diverse AI development needs. The Inference Engine supports a vast array of models, including popular options like Llama-3 and Mixtral, as well as user-trained custom models. This flexibility allows developers to address tasks ranging from natural language processing to image generation.

The Fine-Tuning Engine offers an intuitive interface for customizing models. Users can upload datasets, control hyperparameters like learning rate and batch size, and deploy fine-tuned models seamlessly. These tools are designed to accommodate varying levels of expertise, enabling both small startups and large enterprises to optimize their AI workflows.

Finally, Together AI’s GPU Clusters provide high-performance computing for large-scale training and fine-tuning tasks. With advanced configurations and dedicated support, these clusters are ideal for organizations requiring reliable, scalable compute resources.

Use Cases and Applications

Together AI’s technology powers a wide range of applications. One prominent example is RAG, which combines Together AI’s embeddings with its inference engine to create highly accurate, domain-specific outputs. This approach is particularly valuable for industries like legal and medical research, where precision is paramount.

Additionally, Together AI supports creative applications such as AI-assisted tutoring and dynamic content generation. For example, its tools are used in NotesGPT, an application that converts voice notes into structured summaries, and Napkins.dev, which translates wireframe designs into code. These use cases illustrate the versatility and impact of Together AI’s offerings across various sectors.

6. Together AI’s Enterprise Solutions

Scalability and Security

Enterprise customers benefit from Together AI’s robust solutions that prioritize scalability and security. The platform offers deployment options across private virtual clouds (VPCs), on-premises systems, and public clouds like AWS and Azure, ensuring flexibility for organizations with diverse needs. Moreover, Together AI guarantees that all models and data remain fully under the customer’s ownership, a critical feature for industries requiring strict data compliance.

The platform’s adaptive scaling capabilities automatically adjust compute resources to meet fluctuating demand. This ensures consistent performance even during high-traffic periods, making Together AI an ideal partner for enterprises handling mission-critical workloads.

Customer Success Stories

Several enterprises have successfully implemented Together AI’s solutions to drive innovation. Companies utilized the Together Inference Engine to increase token throughput, enhancing player experiences in its AI-driven platform. This kind of case studies demonstrate the tangible benefits of Together AI’s tools, from cost savings to improved user engagement. By addressing specific challenges like latency and scaling, the platform enables its customers to achieve significant business outcomes.

7. Together AI’s Philosophy and Values

Commitment to Open Source

Together AI is deeply committed to advancing open-source principles in the AI industry. By ensuring developers retain ownership of their fine-tuned models and providing transparent documentation, the company fosters trust and collaboration. Its open-source projects, such as RedPajama and the Together Cookbook, empower users to explore, customize, and deploy AI solutions with ease.

This commitment extends to its partnerships with leading organizations, including Hugging Face and LangChain, which amplify its contributions to the broader AI community.

Ethical Considerations

Together AI prioritizes ethical AI development, emphasizing data privacy and responsible use. All user data remains private and is never used for model training without explicit consent. This approach aligns with its vision of creating AI systems that benefit society while minimizing risks. Moreover, the company’s focus on transparency and accuracy ensures that its solutions not only meet technical standards but also adhere to ethical guidelines, making Together AI a trusted partner for enterprises and researchers alike.

Integration with Modern AI Stacks

Together AI’s integration capabilities further enhance its competitive edge. The platform supports seamless integration with popular frameworks and tools, including MongoDB Atlas, LangChain, and LlamaIndex, enabling developers to implement advanced AI workflows like RAG with ease.

A practical example is Together AI’s collaboration with MongoDB, where developers can use its embeddings endpoint to create highly customized, domain-specific applications. This integration simplifies complex tasks, such as semantic search and data retrieval, providing businesses with robust and reliable AI-driven solutions.

8. Future Vision of Together AI

Roadmap and Vision

Together AI’s roadmap reflects its commitment to pushing the boundaries of generative AI. Key plans include expanding its GPU cluster capacity globally to accommodate the increasing demand for high-performance AI compute. This expansion aims to address challenges such as GPU shortages while providing enterprises with scalable and reliable solutions.

The company also plans to introduce new features tailored to large enterprises, such as enhanced model orchestration tools and optimized APIs for custom workflows. These developments align with its vision of becoming the go-to platform for both research-driven and commercial AI applications.

Role in AI Democratization

Together AI is poised to play a pivotal role in democratizing AI by ensuring that advanced generative AI technologies remain accessible to developers and enterprises alike. Its focus on open-source contributions and community-driven innovation bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and practical applications.

For example, by providing affordable access to state-of-the-art models and datasets, Together AI empowers smaller organizations and researchers to compete with larger players in the AI space. This inclusive approach is central to the company’s mission of creating a more equitable and innovative AI ecosystem.

9. Key Takeaways of Together AI

Together AI has established itself as a trailblazer in the generative AI landscape, offering a unique combination of cutting-edge technology, open-source principles, and enterprise-grade solutions. Its platform not only accelerates AI development but also lowers barriers for businesses to adopt and scale AI-driven applications.

The company’s relentless focus on innovation, from advanced inference engines to scalable GPU clusters, ensures that users receive top-tier performance without compromising affordability. Furthermore, its ethical approach to AI development, emphasizing transparency and data privacy, sets a benchmark for responsible AI practices.

As Together AI continues to expand its capabilities and global reach, it remains committed to empowering developers, researchers, and enterprises to harness the full potential of generative AI. Whether through groundbreaking technologies or collaborative community initiatives, Together AI is shaping the future of AI in transformative and accessible ways.

References

• Together AI | Fast Inference, Fine-Tuning & Training
• Together AI | Together AI Products - Inference, Fine-Tuning, Training, and GPU Clusters
• Together AI | Together GPU Clusters - NVIDIA H100, H200, A100 with 3.2 Tbps Infiniband Networking
• Together AI | Together AI Solutions - Fastest Tools for Building Private Models for Enterprise
• Together AI | The Enterprise Platform for Inference & Fine-tuning
• Together AI | Meet the Team and Learn about our Values
• Together AI | Open-source Research from Together AI | Cutting-edge Models, Datasets, and Optimizations.
• Together AI Blog | Announcing $106M round led by Salesforce Ventures
• Together AI Blog | Announcing Together Inference Engine – the fastest inference available
• Together AI Blog | RedPajama, a project to create leading open-source models, starts by reproducing LLaMA training dataset of over 1.2 trillion tokens
• Together AI Docs | Introduction
• MongoDB | Together AI: Advancing the Frontier of AI With Open Source Embeddings, Inference, and MongoDB Atlas

Please Note: Content may be periodically updated. For the most current and accurate information, consult official sources or industry experts.