The NorthPole processor embeds a small amount of memory into each of its 256 cores, which are connected together in a way similar to the way parts of the brain are connected together with white matter. This means the chip mitigates the bottleneck entirely.
IBM’s NorthPole is more of a proof of concept than a fully functioning chip that can compete with the likes of AMD and Nvidia. It only includes 224MB of RAM, for example, which is nowhere near enough the scale required for AI or to run large language models (LLMs).
The chip can also just run pre-programed neural networks trained on separate systems. But its unique architecture means the real standout is the energy efficiency it can boast. The researchers claim that if NorthPole was created today with state-of-the-art manufacturing standards, it would be 25 times more efficienct than the best GPUs and best CPUs.
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