Home›Global Markets›China›China researchers unveil optical chip interconnect boo…

China researchers unveil optical chip interconnect boosting AI inference

The system connects standard electronic chips using an all-optical link, raising distributed inference speed by more than 100 times while using about one-ninth of typical compute resources, according to the study.

Reported · Written up by our desk · China

Chinese researchers have developed an all-optical interconnect system that links standard electronic chips, aiming to speed up AI distributed inference while cutting the computing resources needed. SCMP Economy reports the approach boosted distributed inference speeds by more than 100 times while using about one-ninth of the typical computational resources.

The work was published in the journal National Science Review, with corresponding authors Shu Haowen and Wang Xingjun from Peking University, according to SCMP Economy.

The system relies on two custom-designed communication hardware components that connect FPGA boards, including a silicon photonic transceiver chip running at 400 gigabits per second to convert electrical signals to optical and back, the outlet said.

The study also frames its contribution against the current industry model of adding more GPUs and building larger data centers to meet rising AI compute demand, a strategy that is increasingly tied to energy use and scalability concerns, SCMP Economy reported.

More like this

Sources