Wait, but isn't Alibaba a cloud provider too, and thus a rival to other cloud providers? You don't want to get a situation where every cloud provider has to create its own chips/ecosystem and they all refuse to cooperate with each other. China needs a single major AI chip champion to take on NVIDIA using the combined scale of China's market behind it.
Language Processing Units for LLMs.
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Agree, but there are some issues, modern GPUs are general purpose use, that is why despite being made for graphics can also be used for training and running AI models. A LPU would in theory be WAY more efficient than a GPU but the question is: They will be flexible and general purpose enough to accommodate different LLM architectures? Or the entire AI landscape has to be accommodated to LPUs?A lot of important stuff is posted in this thread. This is a great idea.
However, I would like to translate, because I feel many posters do not fully understand, therefore they do not appreciate it as much as they should.
Instead of laughing, some wonder what is this. So I would like translate a bit.
There was the CPU the central processing unit, the semiconductor chip for the computer, the brains that adds and subtracts, then stores the results into memory.
After the CPU, some people wanted to play games, so Jensen Huang delivered the GPU the graphics processing unit. This chip was not to replace the CPU chip, it was to help it, so we could play games, back in the day.
Then, as technology evolved, people realized that the GPU was great at training the LLM or the AI models.
That is where we are today.
Now this post by comrade tokenanaylst, shows a new design for a new chip, specifically designed to handle the tokens from Large Language Models.
If we had CPU, the GPU, then this maybe a LPU, whatever, you get the picture.
The GPU was to handle the graphics better so we can play games. Well, maybe not me, but I knew people who played a lot of computer games, they still do too.
What seems curious, as I really do not know much about this stuff even though I am trying to translate it, is that the LLM uses a lot of matrix calculations.
Look at that design of this chip. They design like matrix, to basically handle those LLM matrix calculations.
Whatever goes through the LLM calculation, what comes out is not created equal, so you have those weights. So with a more effecient way of calculating or processing those weights, the more effecient or better your model, aka your LLM, will be.
So this design of this chip, is to improve preformance of the LLM, and it could improve it radically. Maybe we can run even more advanced LLM on the simple cell phone. Like on the cell phone, with this chip. Eventually, that is what someone will want and drive it there.
That is why it is imperative that Jensen Huang and Nvidia has access to the China market. That way he knows what is going on. If someone is designing a chip like this, and you're not, then guess what? Now you're IBM or something.
Some easy reading. Blah blah blah.
SK memory makers have been busy building new fabs in SK. But the thing is, while this might make sense for DRAM which needs EUV, for NAND the new fabs are just extra expense.
Following the exemption granted by the U.S. government to SK Hynix in 2023, the company began importing equipment for manufacturing DRAM with processes of 18nm and below to its Wuxi plant in China. However, the import of EUV equipment into China is still not permitted, presenting challenges in upgrading the fourth-generation DRAM production line at SK Hynix.
To address this issue, SK Hynix has chosen to use a “transportation” method for the process transition. This involves conducting the initial stages of production for the fourth-generation DRAM wafers at the Wuxi plant in China, then sending the wafers back to the headquarters in Icheon, South Korea, to complete the EUV process, and finally returning them to Wuxi to complete the remaining steps.
It is reported that the cost increase is acceptable to SK Hynix, as the EUV process for the fourth-generation DRAM products only requires a single layer of exposure. In fact, the company previously used this method to overcome disruptions in DRAM production during a fire at its Wuxi plant in 2013.
What is making the industry uneasy is TSMC's review of the proportion of Chinese revenue of Taiwanese factories. Starting from 2026, Taiwanese factories with a high proportion of Chinese revenue will be eliminated. It has been confirmed that several companies have had their orders cut.
Decoupling is better for everybody it seemsOn top of removing mainland companies from it's supply chain, TSMC now wants to remove any Taiwanese suppliers that generate significant revenue from mainland.
Will this "refrain" Trump from "asking for share ownership" as well?On top of removing mainland companies from it's supply chain, TSMC now wants to remove any Taiwanese suppliers that generate significant revenue from mainland.
The target assets of this transaction are the 49% equity held by the counterparties in SMIC North.
SMIC stated that due to the uncertainties associated with this transaction, in order to ensure fair information disclosure, protect the interests of investors, and avoid significant impact on the company's stock price, according to relevant regulations of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the company's stock will be suspended from trading starting September 1, 2025, with an expected suspension period not exceeding 10 trading days.
SMIC North currently has a 12-inch semiconductor wafer production line that commenced production in 2016, primarily using mature process technology nodes of 65nm to 24nm.