Hot take (kinda) of the day: Mass AI adoption is gated by hardware challenges!
I just wrapped up an insightful session at Penang with BC Ooi from Broadcom and Vivek Raghuraman from Mixx Technologies Inc. The biggest takeaway? Mass AI adoption is gated by hardware challenges—especially in optical integration. Sharing some of my thoughts/insights from the session:
1) Optical integration is a cornerstone for advancing high-performance computing, yet it's hindered by significant challenges in manufacturability, interconnects, and heat dissipation. These obstacles are particularly evident in the development of co-packaged optics (CPO) and ASICs, where the complexity of combining multiple chiplets onto a single substrate creates further difficulties.
2) Fragmentation in EDA tools is a significant problem. While we knew this was an issue in the broader semiconductor space, it was eye-opening to realize its impact on the design of systems like CPOs and ASICs. This insight validated, again, why we're developing AI-based EDA solutions at Niyam AI. We need more integrated tools that streamline the design process and make these sophisticated technologies more accessible and efficient. It won't come from giants like Cadence and Synopsys, but through the new age mom-and-pop EDA solution providers.
3) One possible answer to the issues Vivek highlighted with optical integration: Substrate CPOs. Broadcom deserves credit here because they were among the first to successfully implement substrate CPOs at scale. While it's a promising solution, they don’t fully resolve broader issues such as optical integration complexity, heat dissipation in high-density packages, and manufacturability at scale. Additionally, design flexibility and the lack of standardization across the industry remain significant hurdles. Promising, but lots of development and refinement yet to come.
4) Tencent has been piloting advanced packaging with optical integration, achieving significant milestones in reducing costs and improving energy efficiency. I think the industry buzz is that the early results show that they’ve managed to cut optics costs by nearly 50% and achieve power savings of around 70%. The potential of integrating optics into semiconductor packaging is massive.
Looking ahead, it's clear that innovation in both hardware and software is vital to meet the demands of mass adoption in AI. The road is challenging, but companies like Mixx Technologies Inc are driving the necessary changes. Snapshot below of the session and a quick snippet of the MVP we've been building for optimizing SIC MOSFETS for EV Inverters.