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Cerebras wins DARPA contract to build AI system with co-packaged optics - SiliconANGLE

Apr 01, 2025 - siliconangle.com
Cerebras Systems Inc. has secured a $45 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a high-performance computing system. This system will integrate Cerebras' WSE-3 chip, which features nearly 1 million cores and 4 trillion transistors, with co-packaged optics technology from Canadian startup Ranovus Inc. The WSE-3 chip is designed for AI workloads and offers a more power-efficient alternative to traditional graphics cards by utilizing a large onboard SRAM memory pool. The integration of Ranovus' optics aims to enhance the efficiency and network capacity of AI clusters by eliminating the need for standalone pluggable transceivers.

In addition to this project, Cerebras is involved in DARPA's DRBE program, which focuses on creating a virtual environment for testing wireless communications systems. This involves building a radio frequency emulation supercomputer. Furthermore, Cerebras is constructing six new data centers equipped with its WSE-3 processors, featuring thousands of CS-3 compute appliances. These initiatives underscore Cerebras' commitment to advancing AI and computing technologies in collaboration with DARPA.

Key takeaways:

  • Cerebras Systems has secured a $45 million contract from DARPA to develop a high-performance computing system integrating its WSE-3 chip with Ranovus' co-packaged optics technology.
  • The WSE-3 chip, optimized for AI workloads, features 4 trillion transistors and 900,000 cores, with a 44-gigabyte pool of onboard SRAM memory, offering a more power-efficient alternative to traditional graphics cards.
  • Co-packaged optics technology from Ranovus will be used to link multiple WSE-3 chips, enhancing AI cluster efficiency and network capacity by integrating transceivers directly into processors.
  • In addition to the DARPA contract, Cerebras is involved in the DRBE program to create a virtual environment for testing wireless communications and is building six new data centers equipped with its WSE-3 processors.
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