In this episode of No Priors, Sarah sits down with Felix Ejeckam and Ty Mitchell, founders of Akash Systems, a company pioneering diamond-based cooling technology for semiconductors used in space applications and large-scale AI data centers. Felix and Ty discuss how their backgrounds in materials science led them to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in tech today: thermal efficiency and heat management at scale. They explore how Akash is overcoming the limitations of traditional semiconductors and how their innovations could significantly boost AI performance. Felix and Ty also talk about their collaboration with India’s sovereign cloud provider, the importance of strengthening U.S. manufacturing in the AI chip market, and the role Akash Systems could play in advancing satellite technologies.

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Show Notes:

0:00 Introduction

0:30 What is Akash Systems?

2:12 Felix’s personal path to building Akash Systems

4:45 Ty’s approach to acquiring customers

6:40 Challenges of operating in space

7:54 Live demo on diamond’s conductivity

9:50 Heat issues in data centers

15:38 Heat as a fundamental limit to technological progress

20:44 Akash’s role in the semiconductor market

22:54 Growing diamonds

25:10 Collaborating with India’s sovereign cloud provider

28:15 Importance of American manufacturing for AI chips and outlook on current data capacity 

29:45 The Chips Act

31:22 Future of national security lies in satellite and radar tech

32:46 Critical issues in the U.S. AI supply chain

36:34 Deep learning’s role in material science discovery

40:16 The future: AI expanding our possibilities