With software becoming more important than ever, hardware is following suit. As the world generates more data, unlocking the full potential of AI means a constant need for faster and more resilient hardware.  But how much does this all really cost? In this final segment of our AI hardware series, we tackle that question head on.  Be sure to check part 1 and 2, where we explore the emerging architectures and the momentous competition for AI hardware.   Topics Covered: 00:00 – The cost of compute 02:20 – Is this sustainable? 03:23 – The cost to train a model 05:39 – Computation requirements 09:05  – The relationship between compute, capital, and technology 11:15 – GPT4 commenting on the technology with help from ElevenLabs   Resources:  Find Guido on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appenz/Find Guido on Twitter: https://twitter.com/appenz  Stay Updated:  Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In 2011, Marc Andreessen said, “software is eating the world.” And in the last year, we’ve seen a new wave of generative AI, with some apps becoming some of the most swiftly adopted software products of all time. So if software is becoming more important than ever, hardware is following suit. In this episode – the first in our three-part series – we explore the terminology and technology that is now the backbone of the AI models taking the world by storm. We’ll explore what GPUs are, how they work, the key players like Nvidia competing for chip dominance, and also… whether Moore’s Law is dead? Look out for the rest of our series, where we dive even deeper; covering supply and demand mechanics, including why we can’t just “print” our way out of a shortage, how founders get access to inventory, whether they should own or rent, where open source plays a role, and of course… how much all of this truly costs!   Topics Covered: 00:00 – AI terminology and technology 03:44 - Chips, semiconductors, servers, and compute 04:48 - CPUs and GPUs 06:07 - Future architecture and performance 07:01 - The hardware ecosystem 09:05 - Software optimizations 12:23 - What do we expect for the future? 14:35 - Upcoming episodes on market  and cost   Resources:  Find Guido on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appenz/Find Guido on Twitter: https://twitter.com/appenz  Stay Updated:  Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.