Oxford-based Lumai has launched the world’s first optical computing system that can run a billion-parameter large language model (LLM) in real time. Dubbed Iris Nova, this server can help companies deliver artificial intelligence (AI) inference services while consuming up to 90 percent less power.
Standard systems use silicon for computation, which, for some time, has been nearing the limits for its efficiency, which has a major impact on its scalability and power consumption. Each new generation of traditional processors now is able to deliver more compute, but only at an exponential increase in energy consumption.
Data centers being built to serve the upcoming AI era are expected to consume more power than ever before. Estimates suggest that global power demand will double by the end of this decade as companies race to meet growing demands for AI inference. But Oxford-based Lumai believes it does not have to be so, thanks to their optical computing system, which is scalable and ready for deployment right away.
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