Intel has build the “world’s largest neuromorphic system” in an effort to enable efficient and scalable AI.

Code-named Hala Point, the system is inspired by how the human brain works and is powered by Intel’s Loihi 2 processor. The company says Hala Point has more than 10 ties more neuron capacity and up to 12 times better performance than its predecessor, Pohoiki Springs.

Intel says Hala Point is capable of 20 quadrillion operations per second—20 petaops—”with an efficiency exceeding 15 trillion 8-bit operations per second per watt.” The company says this exceeds performance levels achieved with GPUs and CPUs.

“The computing cost of today’s AI models is rising at unsustainable rates,” said Mike Davies, director of the Neuromorphic Computing Lab at Intel Labs. “The industry needs fundamentally new approaches capable of scaling. For that reason, we developed Hala Point, which combines deep learning efficiency with novel brain-inspired learning and optimization capabilities. We hope that research with Hala Point will advance the efficiency and adaptability of large-scale AI technology.”

The system’s advanced capabilities are already paying off.

“Working with Hala Point improves our Sandia team’s capability to solve computational and scientific modeling problems. Conducting research with a system of this size will allow us to keep pace with AI’s evolution in fields ranging from commercial to defense to basic science,” said Craig Vineyard, Hala Point team lead at Sandia National Laboratories.