"A startup aiming to prevent programmers from being locked into using Nvidia chips has raised $6 million in funding. London-based Spectral Compute is developing a software framework to enable applications written for Nvidia chips to run on any graphics processing unit. Nvidia's chips, known as GPUs, have become the dominant hardware in the AI boom. Its proprietary programming platform, CUDA, makes it possible for regular applications to use GPUs for general computing tasks - not just for graphics."
"However, programs written for CUDA don't work on other chips, such as those made by AMD or Intel. For Nvidia, CUDA is a defensive moat. For companies, switching applications written in CUDA over to non-Nvidia chips can be a lengthy and complex process. Spectral Compute is aiming to lower the barriers for companies looking to run CUDA applications on other types of chips."
Spectral Compute raised $6 million to build SCALE, a framework compatible with CUDA that enables CUDA applications to run on competing GPU hardware. CUDA currently locks many applications to Nvidia GPUs, making migration to other vendors lengthy and complex. SCALE aims to reduce those barriers by providing out-of-the-box compatibility with certain AMD chip architectures and by extending support to additional vendors over time. SCALE is free for non-commercial and academic use, while commercial deployments are licensed based on deployment type. The company was founded in 2018 by Michael Søndergaard, Chris Kitching, Nicholas Tomlinson, and Francois Souchay.
Read at Business Insider
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