Four teenagers who have been dreaming big together since elementary school invented a light-powered superchip that could power future computers.Â
As detailed by ABC 7, the teens from Fairfax County, Virginia, have developed a prototype chip that can transmit information at a faster and more efficient rate than is currently possible, with light replacing electricity to power computer systems.Â
Their new company, Procyon, is dedicated to this endeavor.
"The light coming out your light bulb is insanely fast. It's the fastest thing in the world," Sathvik Redrouthu, one of Procyon's founders, told ABC 7. "So we were like, what if you just replace all that electricity with just with light? So they're like small lasers like inside the chip."
According to the International Energy Agency, data centers and their transmission networks generate around 1% of energy-related planet-warming pollution, but the demand for them is growing as the global community becomes increasingly connected.Â
Furthermore, even when clean-energy sources power data centers, the cooling infrastructure requires large volumes of water, stretching a precious resource that could grow more scarce for human consumption as a result of a warming planet. In 2021, the World Meteorological Organization reported that only 0.5% of water is usable and available freshwater.   Â
However, the new superchip, which is so tiny it needs to be examined under a microscope, would enhance computers' operational abilities and reduce the amount of stress data centers exert on the environment. If paired with renewable power solutions, the negative impact could be substantially less.
"It [the chip] would allow people, like data centers and companies, to do those computations very, very fast," Pranav Vadde explained to ABC 7.Â
"The benefit of light is that it expels minimal heat," Pranav Velleleth added. "So you don't need to have the same cooling infrastructure to cool your servers. It's better for the environment. Doesn't use as much water."
The technology has even attracted the attention of Silicon Valley investors, who provided funds for the quartet to create a third chip that will be manufactured in Germany. The first two were made in Canada and at the University of Maryland.
While some of the quartet's ideas — like a laser transporter — haven't come to fruition, the superchip project is yet another example of teens working together to solve a pressing need. One group in Colorado, for example, developed a device that could save drivers from deadly collisions with animals on roadways.
"We're just really excited to see where this goes in the future," Jagadeepram Maddipatla told ABC 7 of the superchip. "We're going to just keep working on it. We don't plan on stopping anytime soon."
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