Akash Systems brings diamond cooling to AI infrastructure

Overview

Akash Systems Inc. is applying lab-grown diamonds to cool the graphics processing units used in AI data centers. The company started in space, managing solar radiation on satellites, and says diamond is the most thermally conductive material on Earth, moving heat five times faster than copper. It targets neoclouds and enterprises and has begun deploying diamond-cooled servers using GPUs from Nvidia and AMD.

Key Takeaways

Akash Systems uses lab-grown diamonds to address the heat problem of GPUs in AI data centers.
Co-founder and CCO Pamit Surana says diamond is the most thermally conductive material on Earth and moves heat five times faster than copper.
The company originally worked in space, managing solar radiation on satellites, before bringing the technology to Earth.
It serves two customer types: neoclouds that want to move fast and enterprises that need more air-cooling options.
Akash recently began deploying diamond-cooled servers using GPUs from Nvidia and AMD.

Stats & Key Facts

#Diamond moves heat five times faster than copper, the second most thermally conductive element

Akash Systems brings diamond cooling to AI infrastructure

The cooling approach

The company's technology centers on diamond's thermal conductivity.

›Diamond is described as the most thermally conductive material on Earth.
›It moves heat faster from one end to the other than any other material.
›It is five times faster than copper, the second most thermally conductive element.

Pamit Surana, co-founder and CCO, demonstrated the technology by showing the diamond transferring heat into an ice cube. He said the physics of heat is what the company and the wider ecosystem deal with every day.

From space to data centers

›Akash Systems originally got its start in space.
›Its early work managed solar radiation on satellites.
›The company received funding from a major Wall Street bank at significantly subsidized rates.

Akash Systems originally got its start in space, managing solar radiation on satellites, and now wants to bring its technology to Earth. The company received funding from a major Wall Street bank at significantly subsidized rates.

Two customer types

›Neoclouds want to move fast in a highly competitive market.
›Enterprises require more air-cooling options.
›Akash Systems says it addresses both needs.

Surana said everyone is looking at efficiency, including capital efficiency, heat efficiency, GPU efficiency and token efficiency. He cited two metrics customers watch: cost per token and revenue per watt from the data center.

Air cooling and liquid cooling

›Enterprises are caught between existing air-cooled systems and a move to liquid cooling.
›Akash has products for both types of systems.
›Air cooling will remain standard in markets such as Europe, where space for liquid cooling is limited.

Surana said many publicly traded, pure-play data center companies cannot handle the liquid cooling they are building for the future, so they must find ways to squeeze more power from existing data centers and dedicate it to servers.

Deployment and GPU support

›The company recently began deploying diamond-cooled servers using Nvidia and AMD GPUs.
›It says it innovates on every GPU, citing Blackwell, Vera Rubin and AMD's Helios line.
›Surana compared the company to a pharmaceutical firm running multiple tracks for multiple problems.

Akash Systems says it provides a strong return on investment at the server level and gives neoclouds and enterprises immediate capacity to stay competitive.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Akash Systems cool GPUs?

It uses lab-grown diamonds, which the company says are the most thermally conductive material on Earth, to move heat away from GPUs quickly.

How much better is diamond than copper?

According to the company, diamond moves heat five times faster than copper, the second most thermally conductive element.

Where did the company start?

Akash Systems started in space, managing solar radiation on satellites, before bringing its technology to Earth.

Who are its customers?

It targets neoclouds, which want to move fast, and enterprises, which require more air-cooling options.

Which GPUs does it support?

It recently began deploying diamond-cooled servers using GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, and says it innovates across lines including Blackwell, Vera Rubin and AMD's Helios.

Akash Systems is betting that diamond cooling helps data centers raise density and output within both air- and liquid-cooled systems.