{"id":32565,"date":"2025-10-31T14:36:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T14:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/?p=32565"},"modified":"2026-01-05T12:45:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:45:18","slug":"forget-traditional-chips-thermodynamic-chips-will-revolutionize-energy-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/forget-traditional-chips-thermodynamic-chips-will-revolutionize-energy-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"Forget Traditional Chips: Thermodynamic Chips Will Revolutionize Energy Efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Extropic<\/strong> aims to revolutionize <strong>Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/strong> with its chips based on <strong>thermodynamic principles<\/strong>. The company&#8217;s <strong>TSU processors<\/strong> model <strong>uncertainty<\/strong>, thereby reducing <strong>energy consumption<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A new <strong>technology startup<\/strong> aiming to revolutionize <strong>AI<\/strong> and <strong>scientific research<\/strong> is preparing to challenge traditional <strong>chip manufacturers<\/strong>. <strong>Extropic<\/strong> has developed an unusual chip that uses <strong>probabilistic bits (p-bits)<\/strong> and has not only produced its first working <strong>hardware<\/strong> but has also proven that more advanced systems can be used for practical tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u26a1 Thousands of Times Greater <strong>Energy Efficiency<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indir-54.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32566\" srcset=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indir-54.webp 720w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indir-54-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/indir-54-150x100.webp 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Adopting a completely different approach from traditional <strong>CPU<\/strong> and <strong>GPU architectures<\/strong>, <strong>Extropic&#8217;s chips<\/strong> promise to be thousands of times more <strong>energy-efficient<\/strong> when scaled. This means solving one of the biggest challenges facing today&#8217;s ever-increasing <strong>AI investments<\/strong>. While the claim needs to be proven, the <strong>energy consumption<\/strong> of <strong>AI data centers<\/strong> is becoming a progressively serious issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company calls these new processors <strong>Thermodynamic Sampling Units (TSU)<\/strong>. <strong>TSUs<\/strong> utilize <strong>thermodynamic electron fluctuations<\/strong> via silicon components and shape them to simulate the probabilities of complex systems, such as <strong>weather forecasting<\/strong>, or <strong>AI models<\/strong> that can generate images, text, and video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Extropic<\/strong> has shared its first working chips with a limited number of partners. These include advanced <strong>AI laboratories<\/strong>, startups working on <strong>weather modeling<\/strong>, and some government representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of those testing the new <strong>hardware<\/strong> is Johan Mathe, CEO of the startup <strong>Atmo<\/strong>. <strong>Atmo<\/strong> provides much higher-resolution <strong>weather forecasts<\/strong> than normal for customers like the Ministry of Defense. Mathe emphasizes that <strong>Extropic&#8217;s chips<\/strong> will make it possible to calculate different <strong>weather probabilities<\/strong> much more efficiently. The company also offers a <strong>software<\/strong> called <strong>TRHML<\/strong>. This <strong>software<\/strong> allows the behavior of <strong>Extropic chips<\/strong> to be simulated on a <strong>GPU<\/strong>. Mathe reports observing that the &#8220;<strong>p-bits<\/strong> behave as expected&#8221; using both the <strong>software<\/strong> and the actual chip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Extropic<\/strong>&#8216;s <strong>hardware<\/strong> named <strong>XTR-0<\/strong> consists of an <strong>FPGA chip<\/strong> that can be reconfigured for different tasks, and two <strong>probabilistic chips<\/strong> called <strong>X-0<\/strong>, which contain a few <strong>qubits<\/strong>. Instead of traditional bits with values of 1 or 0, <strong>p-bits<\/strong> can model <strong>uncertainty<\/strong>. Although limited in scale, this chip demonstrates the potential of the company&#8217;s approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udca1 What is the Difference from Traditional Chips?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Hello Thermo World | Extropic\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y28JQzS6TlE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditional <strong>CPUs<\/strong> and <strong>GPUs<\/strong> base their computations on <strong>binary logic<\/strong>. Each bit can only be in one of two states: 1 (on) or 0 (off). This structure is the foundation of <strong>digital computers<\/strong>, and operations proceed through logical accuracy. However, because these systems reduce every operation to a definite outcome, they have a natural limitation in modeling probabilistic or <strong>uncertainty<\/strong>-laden processes like <strong>Artificial Intelligence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>TSU<\/strong> developed by <strong>Extropic<\/strong> is based on a completely different physical and mathematical foundation. The <strong>p-bit (probabilistic bit)<\/strong> in these units is not a fixed 1 or 0 like a classical bit. These units oscillate probabilistically between the two states at any moment. That is, a <strong>p-bit<\/strong> might be &#8220;<strong>70% probability of 1, 30% probability of 0<\/strong>&#8221; at a specific time. This is a random yet controllable behavior, much like <strong>thermodynamic fluctuations<\/strong> in nature. <strong>TSUs<\/strong> use these random movements to generate <strong>statistical models<\/strong>. Thus, <strong>AI models<\/strong>, <strong>weather forecasts<\/strong>, or <strong>molecular simulations<\/strong> can model <strong>uncertainty<\/strong>-based systems much more naturally and <strong>energy-efficiently<\/strong> than classical processors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a paper published on <strong>arXiv<\/strong>, <strong>Extropic<\/strong> announced that a larger chip (the <strong>Z-1<\/strong>) containing thousands of <strong>p-bits<\/strong> will be ready next year, and it could be used to create a new type of <strong>diffusion model<\/strong>. The <strong>Z-1<\/strong>, which is rumored to have <strong>250,000 p-bits<\/strong>, could be used to create <strong>AI models<\/strong> for generating images and videos and guiding the movements of <strong>robots<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You Might Also Like;<\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list wp-block-latest-posts\"><li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/decoding-toyotas-cue7-basketball-robot\/\">The AI Revolution on the Court: Decoding Toyota&#8217;s CUE7 Basketball Robot<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/the-dark-side-of-nanotechnology\/\">The Dark Side of Nanotechnology: Could Microscopic Swarms Erase Billions?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/the-illusion-of-digital-immortality\/\">The Illusion of Digital Immortality: Are You Really Uploading Your Mind?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Extropic aims to revolutionize Artificial Intelligence (AI) with its chips based on thermodynamic principles. The company&#8217;s TSU processors model uncertainty, thereby reducing energy consumption. A new technology startup aiming to revolutionize AI and scientific research is preparing to challenge traditional chip manufacturers. Extropic has developed an unusual chip that uses probabilistic bits (p-bits) and has &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAown96uCw:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[156,340],"class_list":["post-32565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-futurescience","tag-chip-technology","tag-science-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metaverseplanet.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}