Akash Systems Delivers Diamond-Cooled GPU Servers

- Akash Systems' cooling technology utilizes synthetic diamond, which has a thermal conductivity over five times higher than copper, to dissipate heat more effectively from processors. This method is designed to complement existing thermal solutions, such as liquid immersion cooling, by reducing GPU hotspot temperatures by an additional 10°-20°C. - Thermal throttling is a protective measure in GPUs to prevent overheating, where the processor automatically reduces its clock speed, slowing down machine learning model training and other high-demand computational tasks. Effective cooling solutions can mitigate this, and Akash claims its technology can increase compute capacity by 200-400% in some cases by maintaining lower chip temperatures. - The initial customer, NxtGen AI Pvt Ltd, is an AI compute solutions provider in India that was founded in September 2022. The agreement for Akash's diamond-cooled servers is valued at $27 million. - The increasing power density of modern data centers, with server racks drawing 50-100kW, is making traditional air-cooling methods insufficient and costly. This has spurred the adoption of more efficient methods like liquid cooling, which Akash's diamond-based solution can augment. - San Francisco-based Akash Systems was founded in 2016 and holds over 50 patents for its technology. The company's investors include notable figures such as Vinod Khosla and Peter Thiel. - In late 2024, Akash Systems was awarded $18.2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce's CHIPS and Science Act. These funds are designated for the construction of a 40,000-square-foot semiconductor manufacturing facility in Oakland, California.