比量子芯片还强？这家初创公司正在研发热力学芯片

Core Insights - Extropic is developing a new type of computing chip based on thermodynamic computing, which aims to utilize random thermal fluctuations rather than minimize them as in quantum computing [1][2] - The company plans to launch its first chips in late 2025, with expectations that they will be capable of running complex workloads and language models [1] - Extropic has raised $14.1 million in seed funding and has a team of around 20 engineers dedicated to research and development [2] Group 1: Company Background - Extropic was founded by Guillaume Weldon, who previously worked on quantum computing projects at Google [2] - The company has attracted talent from the quantum computing field, particularly those disillusioned by the limitations of quantum technology [2][3] - The CTO and co-founder Trevor McCaw also transitioned from Google's quantum computing project to join Extropic [3] Group 2: Technology and Development - The chip developed by Extropic features a unique array of square components designed to generate "programmable randomness," which can enhance simulations in various fields such as weather forecasting and financial modeling [1] - Current prototypes of thermodynamic hardware have been created in academic labs, including simple neural networks [1] - The anticipated delivery of Extropic's chips to early users later this year is expected to demonstrate value in high-tech trading and medical research through probabilistic simulation algorithms [3]