Apple (AAPL) Supplier Hails Game Changing AI Tech Putting Pressure on Rivals TSMC and Nvidia
Shares in tech titan Apple (AAPL) were higher today after one of its suppliers hailed a breakthrough in optical technology which could be a ‘game changer’ in generative AI.
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A report in the Financial Times revealed that Japan’s TDK had demonstrated the world’s first “spin photo detector.” This combines optical, electronic and magnetic elements to create a response time of 20 picoseconds, or 20 trillionths of a second.
To the ordinary person this means the tech could potentially replace existing semiconductor-based photo detectors that transfer data between chips.
Hideaki Fukuzawa, senior manager of TDK’s next-generation products development centre, told the FT that the speed at which AI processors can transfer data is severely limited by current electronics. “This data transfer is the biggest bottleneck for AI rather than the semiconductor GPU performance,” he said. “Since we can break through many of the current bottlenecks, we think this technology will be a game-changer for the AI and data centre industry.”
Samples By 2026
Indeed, as pointed out by AI experts, data is currently transferred between processors by electrical signals, but the large volumes in AI need a shift towards optical technology because light travels faster.
It was reported that TDK is planning further tests on the tech and that it could provide samples to customers by the end of March next year. Presumably that would include Apple. It could enter mass production in the next three to five years.
TDK is not the only group making waves in optical technology. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) is aiming to start producing within the next five years with Nvidia (NVDA) buying Israeli firm Mellanox Technologies in 2020 to work on efficient connections between networks, systems and data centres.
TDK has now set the pace and quite the challenge for all semiconductor stocks.
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