CVector, an AI startup that builds a brain‑like software layer for heavy industry, announced a $5 million seed round led by Powerhouse Ventures. The funding will accelerate the rollout of its platform, which translates small operational actions into measurable cost savings for clients such as utilities, manufacturers, and chemical producers. With a growing roster of customers and a team of about a dozen engineers, CVector aims to embed AI‑driven economics into the core of industrial decision‑making. Read more →

Researchers in China have unveiled photonic AI chips that reportedly outperform conventional Nvidia GPUs by up to 100 times on narrowly defined generative tasks. The hybrid ACCEL system combines optical and analog electronic components, while the all‑optical LightGen chip contains more than two million photonic neurons. Both platforms claim dramatic improvements in speed and energy efficiency for image‑related workloads, though they are targeted at specialized applications rather than general‑purpose computing. Read more →

Researchers from Purdue University and the Georgia Institute of Technology argue that the growing energy demands of artificial‑intelligence models stem from the longstanding "memory wall"—the gap between fast processors and slower memory. By adopting brain‑inspired architectures that integrate processing and memory, such as spiking neural networks and compute‑in‑memory (CIM) designs, they claim AI can become far more efficient. The study highlights potential benefits for devices ranging from medical equipment to drones, suggesting a shift away from traditional von Neumann designs could dramatically cut power consumption while preserving performance. Read more →

Google reports that the energy required for a typical Gemini Apps text prompt has fallen dramatically, now using about 0.24 watt‑hours, emitting 0.03 g CO₂e and consuming 0.26 ml of water—roughly the energy of nine seconds of TV. The company attributes a 33‑times reduction in per‑prompt energy to software advances such as Mixture‑of‑Experts, compact model versions, and smarter data‑center management, while renewable power and a 1.4‑times drop in carbon intensity of electricity also help. The cumulative impact remains significant given the massive query volume, but the trend points toward a greener AI future. Read more →