{"slug": "chinas-optical-chip-breakthrough-boosts-ai-speed-100-fold-using-fraction-of", "title": "China’s optical chip breakthrough boosts AI speed 100-fold using fraction of compute power", "summary": "Researchers at Peking University have developed an all-optical interconnect system that boosts AI inference speeds by over 100 times while using just one-ninth of the typical computational resources. The breakthrough, published in National Science Review, optically links standard electronic chips with specific algorithms, offering a radical alternative to piling on more GPUs and building larger data centres.", "body_md": "# China’s optical chip breakthrough boosts AI speed 100-fold using fraction of compute power\n\nPeking University researchers develop new all-optical interconnect system linking standard electronic chips with specific algorithms\n\n[Zhang Tong](/author/zhang-tong)in Beijing\n\n[AI](https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article)distributed inference speeds by over 100 times while using just one-ninth of the typical computational resources.\n\nAI models are permeating ever more applications, expanding the industry’s appetite for computational power. The conventional response has been to pile on more GPUs and build ever-larger data centres in a seemingly endless race for energy and brute force.\n\n[Peking University](https://www.scmp.com/topics/peking-university?module=inline&pgtype=article)suggests a radically different path: by optically linking chips with specific algorithms, they boost inference speeds by a factor of over 100 while slashing compute needs to just one-ninth.\n\nThe work was published in the journal National Science Review, and its corresponding authors include Shu Haowen and Wang Xingjun from Peking University.\n\n[autonomous driving](https://www.scmp.com/topics/self-driving-cars-autonomous-vehicles?module=inline&pgtype=article)and data centres.\n\nThe “joints” connecting these FPGAs are two custom-designed communication hardware components. The first is a silicon photonic transceiver chip running at 400 gigabits per second, responsible for converting electrical signals to optical and vice versa.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-optical-chip-breakthrough-boosts-ai-speed-100-fold-using-fraction-of", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3360328/chinas-optical-chip-breakthrough-boosts-ai-speed-100-fold-using-fraction-compute-power?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-07-13 06:00:12+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-13 07:22:29.551080+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-chips", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-research"], "entities": ["Peking University", "Shu Haowen", "Wang Xingjun", "National Science Review"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-optical-chip-breakthrough-boosts-ai-speed-100-fold-using-fraction-of", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-optical-chip-breakthrough-boosts-ai-speed-100-fold-using-fraction-of.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-optical-chip-breakthrough-boosts-ai-speed-100-fold-using-fraction-of.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/chinas-optical-chip-breakthrough-boosts-ai-speed-100-fold-using-fraction-of.jsonld"}}