No Priors Ep. 93 | With Akash Systems' Felix Ejeckam and Ty Mitchell

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. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @AkashSystems | @FelixEjeckam 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

Sarah GuohostFelix EjeckamguestTy Mitchellguest

Dec 12, 202442mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: December 12, 2024
Duration: 42m
Channel: No Priors
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

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. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @AkashSystems | @FelixEjeckam 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

SPEAKERS

Sarah Guo
host
Felix Ejeckam
guest
Ty Mitchell
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of No Priors, featuring Sarah Guo and Felix Ejeckam, No Priors Ep. 93 | With Akash Systems' Felix Ejeckam and Ty Mitchell explores diamond-cooled AI servers promise cooler chips, faster compute, safer grids Akash Systems’ founders Felix Ejeckam and Ty Mitchell explain how lab-grown diamond, the most thermally conductive material, is being integrated directly with semiconductors to cool everything from space radios to AI GPUs. They argue that current data center cooling—fans, liquids, rack-level tricks—only treats symptoms and that physics- and chemistry-driven materials solutions are essential to avoid power crises and performance limits. By bonding synthetic diamond to chips, Akash claims significant temperature drops, better reliability, and headroom to ‘hyper-accelerate Moore’s law’ for AI workloads. The conversation also covers sovereign cloud deployments, U.S. manufacturing and CHIPS Act support, and how AI itself will accelerate materials research and advanced manufacturing.

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