Etched Is Making the Biggest Bet in AI

Etched is making a significant investment in AI by developing Sohu, the world's first specialized chip for transformers. This chip is designed to outperform traditional AI models like DLRMs and CNNs, specifically excelling in running transformer models such as ChatGPT. The company believes that scaling is crucial for achieving superintelligence in AI models, with a focus on providing more compute power and better data. The shift towards specialized chips for transformers is seen as inevitable due to the increasing demand for transformer inference in various AI applications. Sohu's design allows for higher FLOPS utilization compared to GPUs, enabling it to handle transformer models more efficiently. The company's approach involves optimizing hardware and software specifically for transformers, aiming to lead the market in transformer-specific inference. Etched's bet on transformers is supported by the current dominance of transformer architectures in AI applications, making Sohu a key player in the evolving AI hardware landscape.