• Intel, Nervana Shed Light on Deep Learning Chip Architecture

    January 11, 2018

    Almost two years after the acquisition by Intel, the deep learning chip architecture from startup Nervana Systems will finally be moving from its codenamed “Lake Crest” status to an actual product.

    In that time, Nvidia, which owns the deep learning training market by a long shot, has had time to firm up its commitment to this expanding (if not overhyped in terms of overall industry dollar figures) market with new deep learning-tuned GPUs and appliances on the horizon as well as software tweaks to make training at scale more robust. In other words, even with solid technology at a reasonable …

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  • The Next Battleground for Deep Learning Performance

    April 28, 2017

    The frameworks are in place, the hardware infrastructure is robust, but what has been keeping machine learning performance at bay has far less to do with the system-level capabilities and more to do with intense model optimization.

    While it might not be the sexy story that generates the unending wave of headlines around deep learning, hyperparameter tuning is a big barrier when it comes to new leaps in deep learning performance. In more traditional machine learning, there are plenty of open sources tools for this, but where it is needed most is in deep learning—an area that does appear to …

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  • Intel Gets Serious About Neuromorphic, Cognitive Computing Future

    February 11, 2017

    Like all hardware device makers eager to meet the newest market opportunity, Intel is placing multiple bets on the future of machine learning hardware. The chipmaker has already cast its Xeon Phi and future integrated Nervana Systems chips into the deep learning pool while touting regular Xeons to do the heavy lifting on the inference side.

    However, a recent conversation we had with Intel turned up a surprising new addition to the machine learning conversation—an emphasis on neuromorphic devices and what Intel is openly calling “cognitive computing” (a term used primarily—and heavily—for IBM’s Watson-driven AI technologies). This is the first …

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  • Memory at the Core of New Deep Learning Research Chip

    February 2, 2017

    Over the last two years, there has been a push for novel architectures to feed the needs of machine learning and more specifically, deep neural networks.

    We have covered the many architectural options for both the training and inference sides of that workload here at The Next Platform, and in doing so, started to notice an interesting trend. Some companies with custom ASICs targeted at that market seemed to be developing along a common thread—using memory as the target for processing.

    Processing in memory (PIM) architectures are certainly nothing new, but because the relatively simple logic units inside of …

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  • Inside Intel’s Strategy to Integrate Nervana Deep Learning Assets

    November 22, 2016

    There is little doubt that 2017 will be a dense year for deep learning. With a sudden new wave of applications that integrate neural networks into existing workflows (not to mention entirely new uses) and a fresh array of hardware architectures to meet them, we expect the space to start shaking out its early winners and losers and show a clearer path ahead.

    As we described earlier this week, Intel has big plans to integrate the Nervana ASIC and software stack with its Knights family of processors in the next several years. This effort, codenamed Knights Crest, is a long-term …

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  • Nervana CEO on Intel Acquisition, Future Technology Outlook

    August 10, 2016

    Following yesterday’s acquisition of deep learning chip startup Nervana Systems by Intel, we talked with the company’s CEO, Naveen Rao, about what plans are for both the forthcoming hardware and internally developed Neon software stack now that the technology is under a much broader umbrella.

    Media outlets yesterday reported the acquisition was $350 million, but Rao tells The Next Platform it was not reported correctly and is actually more than that. He was not allowed to state the actual amount but said it was quite a bit higher than the figure given yesterday.

    Nervana had been seeking a way to …

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