Scaling Compute
Backed by £42m, this programme will look to redefine our current compute paradigm
This programme has been shaped by Programme Director Suraj Bramhavar following extensive external consultation and feedback.
Why this programme:
The digital electronics industry that has transformed our lives in immeasurable ways is defined by the simple fact that, for 60+ years, we have benefited from exponentially more computing power, at lower cost.
This fact is no longer true. For the first time in history, increased performance requires increasing costs and this coincides with an explosion of demand for more compute power driven by AI.
Our current mechanisms for training AI systems utilise a narrow set of algorithms and hardware building blocks, which require significant capital to develop and manufacture. The combination of this significance and scarcity has far-reaching economic, geopolitical and societal implications.
What we’re shooting for:
We see an opportunity to draw inspiration from natural processing systems, which innately process complex information more efficiently (on several orders or magnitude) than today’s largest AI systems.
Our goal: to increase + open up new vectors of progress in the field of computing by reducing the cost of AI hardware.
In doing so, we’ll open up new opportunities to reap the economic + social benefits of AI, from accelerating scientific research to improving the efficiency of our public services.
Document library
Additional context for this programme:
- Opportunity space: Nature Computes Better [PDF]
- Programme thesis: Unlocking AI compute hardware at 1/1000th the cost [PDF]
- Solicitation presentation TA1-4
- Call for proposals TA1-3 – now closed [PDF]
- Clarification questions TA1-3
Applicant resources (TA4)
About ARIA funding
If you require an accessible version of any of these documents, please contact clarifications@aria.org.uk
Meet Suraj Bramhavar
Suraj aims to redefine the way computers process information. He’ll direct funding into how we can build more efficient computers using principles ubiquitously found in nature.
Prior to ARIA, Suraj was co-founder and CTO of Sync Computing, a VC-backed startup optimising the use of modern cloud computing resources. The company was spun-out from his research at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Prior to that, Suraj worked at Intel Corp, helping transition silicon photonics technology from an R&D effort into a now >$1BN business.
