Synthara
Hidden Power in a 4mm² Package
Manu V Nair and Alessandro Aimar first met in January 2016 when they both started their PhD studies at ETH Zurich on the same day. Manu had previously developed chips for biomedical products at Analog Devices in India and then at Apical Imaging in the UK. Alessandro had studied Physical Engineering and then Nanotechnology and had worked on Digital Design at Imagination in Bristol. When they started working at the Institute of Neuroinformatics in Zurich, they had both independently become motivated to work on AI and efficient computing. Hence a strong friendship commenced. Soon they envisioned creating a company dedicated to cutting-edge chip design. To acquire the necessary qualifications, both embarked on their PhD journeys at ETH Zurich and University of Zurich. With their academic achievements in hand, Manu and Alessandro brought their initial vision to life by founding Synthara during the 2020 lockdown.
A glance at Synthara’s website reveals a roster of board members and advisors that reads like a “Who’s Who?” of semiconductor manufacturing. Manu recognizes that their team is likely the best assembly of industry experts and appreciates their unwavering support. This impressive group came together solely through word-of-mouth within the industry. So, what makes Synthara’s business concept so captivating?
For the last 30 years, the processor industry has largely adhered to Moore’s Law, which states that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. This trend led to increased chip density, smaller devices, and greater computing power with reduced space requirements. However, maintaining this pace has become increasingly challenging and costly. The demand for computational power is growing exponentially, with data and computing complexity doubling every 3-4 months. For example, modern AI-based search engines such as ChatGPT necessitate 20 times the computing power of traditional search engines, making it exceedingly expensive on the hardware currently available in the market.
This situation has sparked a race for more efficient computing power across all layers, as businesses struggle to stay viable without effectively addressing their customers’ computing needs. In another important trend, a lot of complex computing workloads is shifting from data centers to the edge, prompting edge devices to become smarter and requiring more computing power. This is the arena into which Synthara steps to make a difference.
Revolutionizing Chip Design: Unifying Processing and Memory
Until now, processing and memory have remained distinct components. Synthara aims to change that by harnessing the concept of in-memory computing, an idea that has existed for over 20 years; yet nobody ever managed to realize it in a working product. In essence, this approach embeds processing power within the memory itself. From an interface standpoint, Synthara’s offering appears like typical memory; it is thus called ComputeRAM. The Synthara team integrated this ComputeRAM in a compact 2×2 mm chip in a novel type of architecture. They also produced a software development kit that allows users to optimize the entire system for applications such as AI without requiring any low-level understanding of the hardware. This results in a 50-fold increase in computing power and efficiency, enabling customers to create far more intricate models and incorporate advanced features previously unattainable.
Synthara’s unique selling point lies in its ability to deliver in-memory computing in a non-disruptive manner. Chip manufacturers utilizing Synthara’s semiconductor intellectual property (semi-IP) can seamlessly integrate it without altering their existing infrastructure. A crucial aspect of this solution is its focus on maximizing energy efficiency.
Synthara’s overarching vision is to enable ubiquitous intelligence. Their technology could potentially enhance efficiency and computing power across a variety of applications, including IoT devices, wearables, smartwatches and smartphones, server farms in data centers, autonomous vehicles, drones, and mobile radio stations. Chip samples featuring this innovative design will be available by mid-2023, marking a significant milestone. This availability demonstrates to potential clients that Synthara offers a tangible product capable of providing meaningful benefits.
