With compute demand at an all-time high and stagnating performance gains, COBI provides a revolutionary computer. COBI takes inspiration from quantum and classical computers to offer a portable, efficient, and inexpensive hardware architecture to solve some of the most pressing optimization problems faced today. 

 
 

 

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William Moy

William Moy is the co-founder and CTO of COBI, a spinout of his doctoral research in physics-inspired computing at the University of Minnesota. COBI seeks to deliver quantum computing performance using today’s semiconductor technologies. During his Ph.D., Moy worked to develop coupled oscillator circuits that simultaneously modeled harmonic interactions, which are used in solving optimization problems.  Moy has previously worked at Texas Instruments on automotive system-on-chips.

 

TECHNOLOGY

 

Critical Need
Despite the exponential growth in computing power over the past half-century, driven primarily by Moore's law, today's classical computers need help delivering the performance and energy-efficiency required to solve large-scale optimization problems. Optimization problems are wide-ranging, permeating fields from logistics and telecommunications to finance. While quantum computers have promised to solve these pressing problems, the prospect of a mass-produced quantum machine is still far off, even with billions of dollars already invested. An interim solution to bridge the gap between classical and quantum computers is needed to solve these challenging problems.

Technology Vision
COBI is taking a new approach to solving optimization problems by leveraging the best classical and quantum computers to develop a new computer architecture. The computer architecture emulates quantum entanglement in standard semiconductor technology, combining quantum performance with classical computers' manufacturability. Furthermore, using standard semiconductor technology allows the computer architecture to be integrated into large-format data centers and low-power mobile devices. Through this new architecture, COBI seeks to augment classical computer capabilities by providing acceleration for critical algorithms.

Potential for Impact
COBI seeks to extend computing beyond what central processing units and graphics processing units are capable of. By leveraging current semiconductor technologies, COBI can provide inexpensive, high-performance hardware to solve previously intractably complex algorithms. Additionally, formerly server-bound optimization could be performed on the edge through COBI's specialized computers. By reducing the cost and effort to run optimization problems, COBI can make optimization algorithms commonplace, changing how even everyday issues are addressed.

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