New Sohu chip promises 20x better AI performance

A startup americana Etched works on hardware development for artificial intelligence (AI) recently made a big announcement. The company will launch a new chip designed to improve and optimize AI models. This chip promises to be very efficient in difficult tasks, such as creating text on its own. It is believed to be much better than traditional GPUs and will change the way we use data in computers.

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The ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) launched by Etched has been named Sohu. This component is designed to interact synergistically with transformers — which are AI models used in text generation, such as ChatGPT.

To clarify their functionality, transformers are responsible for decoding input sequences, then producing coherent outputs. This process involves learning complex contexts and mapping the intricate relationships between different information elements.

To better understand, let’s think of one of these transformers as a lyricist. It uses mathematical formulas to combine different ideas, such as “computer” and “internet.” This creates meaningful sentences, such as “the computer is used to access the internet.” Sohu, which was specially designed for these transformers, was much faster — 20 times faster than using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models, such as Meta’s Llama 70b. That’s even compared to the best technologies in the world. Nvidiaincluding its famous H100 and B200 series.

Using Etched’s own data, we can see that Sohu can process thousands of words very quickly — in milliseconds. This makes it very useful for applications that require fast responses and natural conversations. Sohu is also very useful for programming. It has innovative text selectors that look like a “tree.” This allows programmers to write complex code quickly and efficiently.

Gavin Uberti, CEO of Etched, talks about the risks of the business: “Our company is a big risk. We know that if transformers go out of fashion, we could be in trouble. But we are hopeful. If they remain important, Etched could grow a lot and become one of the biggest in technology.” To make Sohu chips a success, Etched partnered with TSMC. This company makes nearly 90% of the world’s top-of-the-line components. With this partnership, Etched gains access to the resources and expertise of a company that already works with big names like Apple and Nvidia.