ZeroPoint, a Swedish startup, has secured €5 million ($5.5M USD) in new funding to develop a novel memory compression technique that could significantly enhance the performance of high-performance computing systems. The concept is to compress data just before it enters RAM and decompress it afterwards, effectively widening the memory channel by 50% or more. This could have a profound impact on AI and other computing applications, as research suggests that up to 70% of data in memory is unnecessary.
Currently, the main obstacle to implementing memory compression is the time it takes. Compressing large files for storage can take seconds, minutes, or even hours, which is not feasible when data passes through memory in a fraction of a second. However, ZeroPoint claims to have solved this issue with its hyper-fast, low-level memory compression technology. By adding their tech onto a chip, it’s as if the memory has been doubled. This breakthrough could be a game-changer for companies looking for faster and cheaper compute power for AI training.
ZeroPoint’s technology works by identifying patterns in small amounts of data and compressing it. The compressed data is then reorganized to be more efficient, resulting in a significant increase in data throughput. While most compression technologies take thousands of nanoseconds, ZeroPoint’s technology can achieve compression in just 3 or 4 nanoseconds. This makes it highly suitable for high-performance computing applications.
The company plans to work with chipmakers and system integrators to license its technique and hardware design to standard chips used in high-performance computing. This includes companies like Nvidia, Intel, Meta, Google, and Apple, which have designed custom hardware for AI and other high-cost tasks. ZeroPoint aims to position its technology as a cost-saving solution that effectively pays for itself by doubling the memory and improving performance.
The recent €5 million funding round led by Matterwave Ventures will allow ZeroPoint to expand into U.S. markets and further pursue opportunities in Sweden. With the growing demand for high-performance computing solutions, ZeroPoint’s innovative memory compression technology has the potential to revolutionize the industry and provide significant benefits to AI development and other compute-intensive applications.