The Future Of Compute: Naveen Rao on How The AI Landscape Has Changed

The Razor’s Edge

We wrap up our Future of Compute series with a leading force in the field, Naveen Rao. Rao founded Nervana Systems, the first next-gen AI chip company, which he sold to Intel. He then drove Intel's AI road map before stepping down from the company in 2020, and just recently announced the founding of MosaicML, an AI startup focused on making algorithms more efficient through what he calls here a 'benchmarking as a service' approach.

Given his interest in AI stretching back over two decades and his front seat position in the field, Rao's perspective on the competitive landscape, on how things have changed from Nervana to Mosaic, and the challenges facing merchant silicon firms is both valuable and a nice wrap-up of the three part series. He gives his take on the Nvidia/ARM deal, Intel's position, the supply chain, and a lot more.

Check out MosaicML, as well as their twitter account and Naveen's.

Topics Covered

• 2:30 minute mark – Naveen’s entry into the AI world over his career
• 6:00 – What did people have to learn about neural networks?
• 8:00 – The goal of Mosaic
• 14:00 – View on the current landscape
• 17:30 – The model Mosaic is targeting
• 20:30 – The significance of Nvidia’s A100 and shift to AI dedicated GPUs – the field in 2016
• 26:00 – The field in 2018
• 32:30 – How to look at the AI market today
• 38:30 – The challenges facing legacy merchant silicon makers
• 45:30 – Can the industry continue to develop with such a fragmented environment
• 51:30 – Intel’s reaction to the current climate
• 55:30 – Where are the IPOs?
• 1:04:00 – Tesla’s D1 Chip and AI ambitions
• 1:12:30 – The Nvidia/Arm deal
• 1:15:30 – Supply Chain challenges