Solving the AI Energy and Silicon Complexity Crises with Physics-Based Computing
As AI’s energy demands reach critical levels with today’s semiconductors, the industry faces unprecedented challenges. Consider this stark reality: a single ChatGPT session consumes 150 times more power than the human brain uses to perform all of its functions. Hyperscalers are dramatically expanding capital investment into cloud infrastructure. Larry Ellison, for example, notes unprecedented demand “we have to build 100 additional cloud data centers…we already got building permits for three nuclear reactors". The semiconductor industry – and hence future of AI – is at a critical crossroads.
In short, we define the AI energy crisis as the critical need to develop new software and hardware approaches to fundamentally shift the energy requirements of AI training and inference. We define the silicon complexity crisis as the critical need to rethink semiconductor design so as to undo bottlenecks straining our ability to achieve time-to-market, handle labor shortages, and scale our ability to develop application-specific hardware products, as we try to keep up with intensifying demands.
At Normal Computing, we’re building AI to help design the next generation of chips that power drastically more efficient AI – to tackle the AI energy and silicon complexity crises. Physics-based computing represents a fundamental shift in our approach to energy-efficient computation.
We invite you to join an exclusive afternoon workshop, featuring leading voices from research, industry, and government agencies for meaningful dialogue on physics-based computing and frontier algorithms research, reducing AI training energy consumption by 1000x, and addressing constraints in advanced semiconductor design, testing, and verification to enable sustainable scaling of computational capabilities.
3:00 PM - Reception
3:15 PM - Normal Computing Introduction (Dr. Patrick Coles, Normal Computing)
3:45 PM - Break
4:00 PM - Guest Speaker Series: Addressing the AI Energy and Silicon Complexity Crises: Expert Insights on Next-Gen Computing, Infrastructure, and Frontier AI Research
AI energy demand is growing rapidly, while the challenge of building more efficient and powerful chips continues to intensify. These two issues give rise to what we call the interconnected AI energy and silicon complexity crises. In this speaker series, we will hear from experts about their work in next-gen computing, infrastructure and frontier AI research to address both challenges.
Speakers: Dr. Benjamin Weiner (ARPA-E), Dr. Logan Wright (Yale University), Dr. Ahmad Beirami (Google DeepMind), Syrus Ziai (Eliyan Corp.), Dr. Douglas Durian (University of Pennsylvania), Dr. Suraj Bramhavar (ARIA)
5:00 PM - Break/Happy Hour
5:15 PM - Panel #1: Technology Innovations in Next-Gen Computing, Infrastructure, and Algorithms to Tackle the AI Energy and Silicon Complexity Crises
In this panel discussion, we will discuss technology innovations in next-gen computing, infrastructure, and algorithms to tackle the challenges presented by the AI energy and silicon complexity crises.
Panelists: Dr. Logan Wright (Yale University), Dr. Omar Khattab (MIT), Dr. Douglas Durian (University of Pennsylvania), Dr. Naveen Verma (Encharge, Princeton)
Moderator: Antonio Martinez (Normal Computing)
6:00 PM - Break
6:15 PM - Panel #2: Strategies for Building Enduring Companies and Partnership Ecosystems in Next-Gen Computing, Infrastructure, and AI
In this panel discussion, we will discuss strategies for investing into and building of deep-tech startups in the rapidly evolving fields of next-gen computing, Infrastructure, and AI. Our expert panelists of deep-tech investors and startup founders will delve into the challenges and opportunities of launching and scaling enduring companies in these critical industries, while also discussing how to create partnership ecosystems that span across the private and public sector.
Panelists: Dr. Suraj Bramhavar (ARIA), Dr. Steve Fu (Celesta Capital), Dr. Benjamin Weiner (ARPA-E), Dillon Erb (Paperspace)
Moderator: Anastasia Marchenkova (Normal Computing)
7:00 PM - Closing Remarks (Dr. Gavin Crooks, Normal Computing)
7:15 PM - Post-Event Networking