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.
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