Nvidia, the dominant company in AI-hardware infrastructure, is focused on overclocking its systems. To give an idea of their ambition, they intend to increase the maximum number of GPUs per system from 72 to a staggering 576 by 2027. This ambitious goal has to be coupled with a pursuit to tackle huge engineering challenges, especially in concert with Broadcom. Together, the two companies have passed stringent testing to establish robust manufacturing processes and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. Their architectures smoothly connect state-of-the-art processors with cutting-edge wireless broadband technologies.
In this changing world, Point2 Technology is a leader in bringing innovative uses of radio technology into data centers. Point2 was started nearly nine years ago by veterans from Marvell, Nvidia and Samsung. Since then, the company has focused on developing new technologies that make use of radio frequencies. It’s a testament to their tenacity that the company has managed to raise $55 million in venture funding. Interestingly, those investors include Molex, a major manufacturer of computer cables and connections.
Point2’s flagship product, the e-Tube cable, is a major breakthrough for data transmission. This cable is different for a good reason. This chip is integrated into an antenna, which receives incoming digital data and modulates it into different millimeter-wave frequencies that can be transmitted in a waveguide. Shimano’s e-Tube cable design is nice and slender. It takes up less than half the space of a copper 32-gauge cable while delivering as much as 20 times the distance!
Engineering Challenges and Innovations
Both Nvidia and Broadcom had significant challenges to overcome in order to ensure their systems were robust and manufacturable. And because of the use of dozens of GPUs and other dense high-performance processors, addressing those issues required a complete revamping of conventional data transmission approaches. The collaboration between these technology giants focused on creating an infrastructure capable of supporting increased processing power without compromising performance or reliability.
The engineering challenges were not limited to hardware problems. Equally crucial was developing and implementing communication protocols to control the literal fire hose of data they knew would come with such high GPU counts. By overcoming these obstacles, Nvidia and Broadcom hope to lead the way in establishing a new era of data center efficiency and performance.
The cables are smaller, and their new design is said to use one-third of the power that optical fibers need. On top of that, they’re a third of the cost! This inventive combination delivers latency improvements that are up to one-thousandth of conventional optical alternatives.
“You start with passive copper, and you do everything you can to run in passive copper as long as you can.” – Don Barnetson
Point2 is preparing to have chips in production for a new 1.6-terabit-per-second cable later this year. This announcement further signals their commitment to shaping more equitable data transmission standards. The new cable will test eight slender, significantly higher bandwidth polymer waveguides. These telecommunication waveguides are able to send data simultaneously for distances of 20 meters at a time, another major jump in efficiency.
A New Paradigm in Data Transmission
Point2’s approach to the amount of data transmitted really makes this platform unique. Radio frequencies + photonic chips + optical fiber = a powerful, cutting-edge solution. This adaptive and hybrid solution helps solve some of the biggest pain points found in current technologies. Fiber optics have been justifiably popular with the speed they offer. Too often, individuals fight against using them due to the perceived challenges that come along with photonics.
Welch’s investigations into photonics have led AttoTude to create several generations of waveguides and components, including digital data chips and terahertz-signal generators. The focus on reliability is paramount, as Welch asserts that “Electronics have been demonstrated to be inherently more reliable than optics.” This ability to count on reliability proves to be a key factor as demands for data only increase.
“If I didn’t have to be at [an optical wavelength], where should I be?” – Dave Welch
Point2 and AttoTude are creating new systems that go beyond prevailing technologies. They propose a solution that combines the best of radio and optical solutions while adding brand new capabilities that completely change the game when it comes to data center operation.
Collaborative Efforts and Future Directions
Creating the data center of the future—one that operates energy efficiently—will take all players in the technology sector working together. Point2’s recent partnership with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology exemplifies this collaborative spirit. Their joint project, reported in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, serves as an example of how academic institutions and tech companies can work together to advance innovation.
Point2 is excited to be entering manufacturing phase for their e-Tube cables! With the right support, they are poised to transform the data centers sector’s electric efficiency footprint. We’re really excited about their breakthrough design and the substantial technical benefits that will yield. It’s better for the environment, too—using 90% less power than the old way of doing things.
Nvidia’s ambitious GPU expansion plans dovetail beautifully with this opportunity. They’re clearly aiming for greater performance heights by increasing GPU adoption. To get there in a sustainable and cost-effective manner, developing the right partnerships with firms such as Point2 will be essential.