AI compute firm Cerebras Techniques mentioned it has been awarded a brand new contract from the Protection Superior Analysis Tasks Company (DARPA) to develop a system combining their wafer scale know-how with wafer scale co-packaged optics of Ottawa-based Ranovus to ship “a number of orders of magnitude higher compute efficiency at a fraction of the ability draw.”
Cerebras mentioned the intention of the platform is to deal with two main challenges: reminiscence and communication bottlenecks. Compute requirement are rising quicker than both reminiscence or IO applied sciences can sustain with. Cerebras’ work in wafer scale integration, delivered by way of dinner plate-sized processor, is designed to handle the reminiscence bandwidth hole. The Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine has 7,000 occasions extra reminiscence bandwidth than GPUs, and delivers the quickest AI inference and the quickest molecular simulations, in response to the corporate.
Ranovus, in the meantime, focuses on superior co-packaged pptics interconnect for AI/ML workloads in knowledge facilities and communication networks with its Odin platform. The corporate’s IP cores — together with multi-wavelength quantum dot laser know-how and digital and silicon photonics built-in circuits — have set new benchmarks for optical interconnects, in response to Ranovus.
The impression of this know-how extends past nationwide protection, serving dual-use functions in each Division of Protection and business sectors. Particularly, it holds immense potential for doing real-time AI instantly from data processing sensors, in addition to real-time simulations of battlefields, and army and business robotics, the businesses mentioned.
“By combining wafer scale know-how and co-packaged optics interconnects, Cerebras will ship a platform able to real-time, high-fidelity simulations for probably the most difficult bodily surroundings simulations and the biggest scale AI workloads, pushing the boundaries of what’s doable in AI and in excessive efficiency computing and AI” mentioned Andrew Feldman, co-founder and CEO of Cerebras. “Constructing on the successes of the DARPA’s Digital RF Battlespace Emulator (DRBE) program, the place Cerebras is at the moment executing the third part and delivering a modern RF emulation supercomputer, on this new initiative Cerebras and its associate Ranovus will ship the industry-first wafer-scale photonic interconnect answer.”
As a part of this DARPA effort, Cerebras mentioned it can handle the communication bottleneck by integrating superior co-packaged optics interconnects from Ranovus, enabling compute efficiency “not possible to realize as we speak even within the largest of supercompute clusters. Not solely will this answer be orders of magnitude quicker than as we speak’s state-of-the-art, but it surely additionally will ship compute at a fraction of the ability consumed by GPUs tied along with conventional switches. At the moment’s switches and their optical interconnects are amongst probably the most power-hungry parts in a big AI or simulation cluster. Integrating the optics into the wafer scale package deal supplies unmatched energy effectivity.”
“By fixing these elementary issues of compute bandwidth, communication IO and energy per unit compute via Cerebras’ wafer scale know-how plus optical integration with Ranovus co-packaged optics, we are going to unlock options to a number of the most complicated issues within the realm of real-time AI and bodily simulations — options which can be as we speak totally unattainable,” mentioned Feldman. “Staying forward of our rivals with superior, energy environment friendly compute that permits quicker AI and quicker simulations is vital for US protection, in addition to for the home business sector.”
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Cerebras on this groundbreaking innovation,” mentioned Hamid Arabzadeh, CEO and founding father of Ranovus. “Our Wafer-Scale Co-Packaged Optics platform will ship 100 occasions the capability of present Co-Packaged Optics options whereas considerably enhancing the power effectivity of AI clusters. This partnership will set up a brand new {industry} customary for supercomputing and AI infrastructure, addressing the rising demand for knowledge transmission and processing and paving the best way for the subsequent technology of army and business simulations and functions.”
