Callosum is looking to challenge the assumption that AI progress will come through a single model run on identical chips.
A UK AI startup that is building software infrastructure that allows AI workloads to run on different chips and AI models has raised $100m in an exceptionally high-value European seed round. Callosum has raised $100m in a seed round led by European VC Atomico, with “significant participation” from European early-stage investor Plural, US VC DCVC, the UK’s Sovereign AI, along with angel investors.
It follows Callosum raising $10.25m in February this year when it came out of stealth. Founded by Cambridge neuroscientists, Callosum is propounding a counterview to the “monoculture” that believes superintelligence will come from a single “God-like” AI model running on identical chips.
It says its approach makes it “faster” and “cheaper” to solve hard, real-world problems at scale. Its approach has won the plaudits of the UK AI minister and the CEO of US chip company Cerebras, which Callosum has announced a partnership with.
Callosum is challenging the assumption that AI development and greater intelligence will come through scaling a single AI model on identical chips, a process which demands high energy and capital costs and concentrates power in the hands of the likes of Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic.
The startup points out that real-world problems are heterogeneous, complex and require different capabilities.
Andrew Feldman, CEO, Cerebras, said: “By integrating Cerebras into Callosum’s platform, we’re making ultra-low-latency inference available exactly where it creates the greatest impact, enabling customers to build AI systems that simply weren’t practical before.”