Nathan Labenz sits down with Andrew Feldman, CEO and Co-Founder of Cerebras Systems, a company building a new class of computer system for accelerating AI and changing the future of work. Cerebras Systems is the creator of the world’s largest chip, at 2.6 trillion transistors. In this episode, they discuss the founding story of Cerebras, the experience of creating the world’s largest chip, and the process that goes into chip design and manufacturing for an AI-focused chip. 

This episode is the first part of our hardware exploration series focused on the people building at the forefront of hardware applications in AI.

LINKS:

Cerebras: https://www.cerebras.net/

Book: The Chip War by Chris Miller

We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

PODCAST RECOMMENDATION:

The AI Breakdown: https://pod.link/1680633614

As anyone in AI knows, the pace of progress of new releases is relentless. The AI Breakdown is a daily podcast (10-20min long) that helps us ensure we don't miss anything important by curating news and analysis.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Preview

(04:27) Andrew’s story of creating the world’s largest chip and Cerebras

(07:19) What is a chip?

(08:14) The diversity of chips and what they can accomplish

(09:47) What is it like to design a 2.5 trillion transistor chip?

(12:41) The founding story of Cerebras and building the team

(14:20) Sponsor: Omneky

(23:00) What was the hardest part about building the company?

(26:11) What happens after designing the chip’s blueprint?

(27:29) The tradeoffs needed in chipmaking 

(34:08) The comparison between chips and neural networks

(38:31) The generalization vs specialization of a chip 

(40:11) Sparse compute vs dense compute

(43:55) Ghost in the machine

(46:54) Supply chain challenges of the Cerebras chip

(54:59) The future for chips

(58:19) Building chip clusters

(58:57) The Cerebras business model

(01:00:41) Building a chip cluster vs using a Cerebras chip

(01:02:57) Giant chips on the edge

(01:05:32) What is the edge? 

(01:08:04) Andrew’s favorite AI products

(01:10:08) Would Andrew get a Neuralink implant?

(01:14:16) Consciousness and chips

(01:17:50) AI hopes and fears

TWITTER:

@CogRev_Podcast

@andrewdfeldman (Andrew)

@labenz (Nathan)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

SPONSORS:

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [email protected].

Music Credit: MusicLM

More show notes and reading material released in our Substack: https://cognitiverevolution.substack.com