Preferred Networks, a Japanese startup, is increasing its investment in bespoke artificial intelligence chips to assure access to crucial hardware as breakthroughs in generative AI fuel a global investment boom. With investors including Toyota (7203.T) and Fanuc (6954.T), a developer of robots and automobiles, the business started working on an artificial intelligence processor for its supercomputers in 2016.
“We knew we needed to optimize energy consumption and minimize procurement risk, which could make it difficult to sustain our business,” said Toru Nishikawa, co-founder and CEO of Preferred Networks. Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) are among the companies developing their artificial intelligence processors, and companies all over the globe are rushing to get their hands on them because of the hype surrounding the technology’s potential.
The second-generation artificial intelligence chip design that will power Preferred Networks’ new supercomputer has been finished and is being built by TSMC (2330.TW).
The startup said that their chips are now better suited for artificial intelligence jobs, using less power and providing more computing capacity, thanks partly to the migration of formerly hardware-intensive tasks to software. Preferred Networks intends to deliver its newest technologies for massive language model building and medication discovery to consumers next year and pure computational capacity for consumers by 2027.
