The global AI chip race is shifting beyond corporate competition. It has become a broader geopolitical contest, with China now pushing to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in high-performance AI hardware.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Chinese researchers have developed an optical AI chip that they claim outperforms Nvidia’s leading processors. This is particularly true in terms of speed and energy efficiency for generative AI tasks such as image and video generation.

The chip, called LightGen, was developed by teams from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Tsinghua University. Researchers said the optical processor can generate high-resolution images, 3D scenes, and videos, highlighting its potential for advanced generative applications.

Unlike traditional electronic chips, LightGen is based on photonic computing which uses light instead of electrical signals. This approach is being explored to overcome the energy and performance limits of conventional processors. These limitations occur especially as AI workloads become increasingly power-intensive.

The researchers also said they developed a new generative training algorithm. This reduces the need for large labeled datasets, potentially lowering training costs and complexity.

According to the SCMP report, LightGen delivers a computing speed of 3.57×10⁴ tera operations per second (TOPS). It also offers an energy efficiency of 6.64×10² TOPS per watt.

It is worth noting that the South China Morning Post, owned by Alibaba Group, has often been viewed by commentators as aligned with the Chinese government’s perspective. Additionally, its reporting on sensitive technology developments has previously faced scrutiny.

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