Azure NCv6 Public Preview: The new Unified Platform for Converged AI and Visual Computing

As enterprises accelerate adoption of physical AI (AI models interacting with real-world physics), digital twins (virtual replicas of physical systems), LLM inference (running language models for predictions), and agentic workflows (autonomous AI-driven processes), the demand for infrastructure that bridges high-end visualization and generative AI inference has never been higher. Today, we are pleased to announce the Public Preview of the NC RTX PRO 6000 BSE v6 series, powered by the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs.

The NCv6 series represents a generational leap in Azure’s visual compute portfolio, designed to be the dual engine for both Industrial Digitalization and cost-effective LLM inference. By leveraging NVIDIA Multi-Instance GPU (MIG) capabilities, the NCv6 platform offers affordable sizing options similar to our legacy NCv3 and NVv5 series. This provides a seamless upgrade path to Blackwell performance, enabling customers to run complex NVIDIA Omniverse simulations and multimodal AI agents with greater efficiency.

Why Choose Azure NCv6?

While traditional GPU instances often force a choice between "compute" (AI) and "graphics" (visualization) optimizations, the NCv6 breaks this silo. Built on the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, it provides a "right-sized" acceleration platform for workloads that demand both ray-traced fidelity and Tensor Core performance.

As outlined in our product documentation, these VMs are ideal for converged AI and visual computing workloads, including:

• Real-time digital twin and NVIDIA Omniverse simulation.
• LLM Inference and RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) on small to medium AI models.
• High-fidelity 3D rendering, product design, and video streaming.
• Agentic AI application development and deployment.
• Scientific visualization and High-Performance Computing (HPC).

Key Features of the NCv6 Platform

1. The Power of NVIDIA Blackwell

At the heart of the NCv6 is the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPU. This powerhouse delivers breakthrough performance featuring 96 GB of ultra-fast GDDR7 memory. This massive frame buffer allows for the handling of complex multimodal AI models and high-resolution textures that previous generations simply could not fit.

2. Host Performance: Intel Granite Rapids

To ensure your workloads aren't bottlenecked by the CPU, the VM host is equipped with Intel Xeon Granite Rapids processors. These provide an all-core turbo frequency of up to 4.2 GHz, ensuring that demanding pre- and post-processing steps—common in rendering and physics simulations—are handled efficiently.

3. Optimized Sizing for Every Workflow

We understand that one size does not fit all. The NCv6 series introduces three distinct sizing categories to match your specific unit economics:

• General Purpose: Balanced CPU-to-GPU ratios (up to 320 vCPUs) for diverse workloads.
• Compute Optimized: Higher vCPU density for heavy simulation and physics tasks.
• Memory Optimized: Massive memory footprints (up to 1,280 GB RAM) for data-intensive applications.

Crucially, for smaller inference jobs or VDI, we will also offer fractional GPU options, allowing you to right-size your infrastructure and optimize costs.

NCv6 Technical Specifications

Real-World Applications

The NCv6 is built for versatility, powering everything from pixel-perfect rendering to high-throughput language reasoning:

• Production Generative AI & Inference: Deploy self-hosted LLMs and RAG pipelines with optimized unit economics. The NCv6 is ideal for serving ranking models, recommendation engines, and content generation agents where low latency and cost-efficiency are paramount.
• Automotive & Manufacturing: Validate autonomous driving sensors (LiDAR/Radar) and train physical AI models in high-fidelity simulation environments before they ever touch the real world.
• Next-Gen VDI & Azure Virtual Desktop: Modernize remote workstations with NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation capabilities. By leveraging fractional GPU options, organizations can deliver high-fidelity, accelerated desktop experiences to distributed teams—offering a superior, high-density alternative to legacy NVv5 deployments.
• Media & Entertainment: Accelerate render farms for VFX studios requiring burst capacity, while simultaneously running generative AI tools for texture creation and scene optimization.

Conclusion: The Engine for the Era of Converged AI

The Azure NCv6 series redefines the boundaries of cloud infrastructure. By combining the raw power of NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture with the high-frequency performance of Intel Granite Rapids, we are moving beyond just "visual computing." Innovators can now leverage a unified platform to build the industrial metaverse, deploy intelligent agents, and scale production AI—all with the enterprise-grade security and hybrid reach of Azure.

Ready to experience the next generation? Sign up for the NCv6 Public Preview here.