The rise of generative AI has led to significant advantages for companies producing AI chips, with Nvidia dominating the market by a large margin. Cloud providers like Meta and Microsoft are heavily investing in Nvidia GPUs to stay competitive in the generative AI space.
However, as the industry depends on a few major chipmakers, generative AI vendors are seeking alternatives to challenge the incumbents. Etched, a new chip company founded by industry veterans, is gaining attention with its unique focus on transformers, which are at the core of many cutting-edge AI models.
Etched’s ASIC chip, Sohu, is specifically designed to run transformer models and is manufactured using TSMC’s 4nm process for superior performance and energy efficiency. The company claims that Sohu outperforms traditional GPUs in running text, image, and video transformers, offering a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly option for specialized AI tasks.
Amid concerns about the environmental impact of current AI infrastructure, Etched presents Sohu as a solution to the industry’s power consumption issues. With promises of speed, cost efficiency, and environmental friendliness, the company aims to revolutionize the AI chip market.
Despite the potential of Sohu, Etched faces competition from other startups focusing on transformer-specific chips. The company’s ability to adapt to changing technological trends, such as the potential decline of transformers, remains a point of interest for investors.
With a recent $120 million funding round and support from notable investors, Etched is planning to scale up its business and launch the Sohu Developer Cloud to attract more customers. The company’s vision for the future of AI technology hinges on its ability to deliver cutting-edge infrastructure to support advancements in various AI use cases.
As Etched navigates the competitive AI chip market, the success of Sohu will ultimately determine the company’s future. With a strong pitch emphasizing the necessity of faster chips for advancing AI technology, Etched aims to position itself as a key player in shaping the future of AI infrastructure.
