Founded by three students studying artificial intelligence at Boston University around 2006, Neurala is a company that's using graphic processing units (GPUs) for artificial intelligence. Having identified the need for increased compute power, the team at Neurala found a way to essentially hack a GPU, making it more like a brain processor.

Since then, Neurala has developed technology that enables machine tool learning and is importing this technology to smart device applications, ranging from consumer apps on smartphones to enterprise solutions enabling complex inspections of structures.

"I believe our mission is to bring the AI industry to the next step, and the way we are doing that is by providing a different way to train this neural network...which resembles humans rather than the way they have been trained...which has been cumbersome...with systems that cannot improve anymore once being put on a device," says Massimiliano Versace, co-founder and CEO of Neurala.

In 2005, there were limited options; CPUs were being used but were already plateauing in terms of processor speed. Now, there is the availability of NPUs, or neural processing units, which are broadening the landscape of AI technology, its applications, and the impact it will have on our world.

Hit play to hear more about the differences between the brain and neural networks, Versace's outlook on the direction of the AI industry in the coming years, and the work being done by his team. Visit neurala.com to keep up on the latest developments.