U.S. awards $258 mln to tech giants to build next-gen supercomputersJune 16, 2017 - 14:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. government is giving six companies a total of $258 million in hopes that they can build an exascale supercomputer before China, Japan or anyone else does, Engadget reports. A post on the Exascale Computing Project website has revealed that the Department of Energy has awarded AMD, Cray, HP, IBM, Intel and Nvidia $258 million in funding over a three-year period. The six corporations won't depend solely on the government's money, though -- to show that they're also fully invested in the project, they'll cover 40 percent of the total costs that could amount to least $430 million. An exascale supercomputer would be capable of making a billion billion calculations per second and is expected to have the same processing power as the human brain at neural level. It could change the way we do research, help us conjure up elusive treatments for illnesses and unravel the mysteries of our planet and the universe. According to the Exascale Computing Project, DOE's funding will help support hardware, software and application development. In HP's case, for instance, the agency wants it to create an exascale computer based on "The Machine" -- its memory-driven supercomputer that has the potential to replace data server farms with a single computer the size of a fridge. The project aims to conjure up at least one exascale-capable system by 2021, though the companies involved might have to work faster than that to beat China, which vows to have a functional exascale machine by 2020. Seeing as it successfully built what's currently known as the world's fastest supercomputer, the Asian country could very well succeed. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |