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Hi there!
Before entering tech journalism, I tried my hands at political reporting. I wanted to do that on my own Youtube channel and needed a high powered computer system for editing the videos. My friend and I decided to build it ourselves and started gathering components for it.
We got everything but one component: the graphics processing unit (GPU) chip. The issue was that globally, people were hoarding GPUs to mine cryptocurrencies locally. Because of this, countries such as India were faced with shortages of these chips, resulting in sky-high prices.
The situation normalized once the crypto market crashed, but a similar situation is now occurring due to the rise of generative AI. At the enterprise level, many companies are trying to get their hands on as many GPU chips as they can to meet the processing requirements of their generative AI models.
Even heavily funded startups like OpenAI are feeling the GPU crunch. The situation has worsened for China – which is dependent on GPU imports – since the US banned Nvidia from exporting its enterprise-level H100 and A100 chips to some countries including China.
In this week’s Big Story, I analyze whether chiplets can be a viable option to meet the processing power requirements of Chinese AI firms.
Coming back to crypto mining, I recently read a report stating that bitcoin mining alone is responsible for 65.4 megatonnes of carbon emissions per year – surpassing Greece’s total emissions in 2019.
Fortunately, there are startups dedicated to mitigating climate impact, and more importantly, there are investors to back such ventures. In the second Big Story, my colleague Shadine speaks with Mike Lim, partner at Trirec, Singapore’s earliest climate tech investor, on the lessons they have learned from investing in this space and their plans to raise up to US$450 million across two funds.
Also, in this week’s AI Odyssey, I discuss how genAI streamers are posing a challenge to the growing live-commerce economy in Southeast Asia.
— Lokesh
THE BIG STORIES
1️⃣Can chiplets power China’s genAI ambition?
Image credit: Made by Tech in Asia using Midjourney
Chinese firms are turning to chiplets for their genAI GPUs after the US imposed restrictions on locally made chips. But is it a viable alternative?
AI ODYSSEY
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
FYI
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