Extropic

Extropic is building thermodynamic computing hardware that is radically more energy efficient than GPUs, creating a new computing substrate specifically designed for generative AI workloads. The company's core technology is based on physics-based computing, utilizing thermodynamic sampling units (TSUs) that are inherently probabilistic, making them the perfect fit for probabilistic AI workloads. Extropic's approach represents a fundamental shift from deterministic to probabilistic computing, where probabilistic software meets probabilistic hardware. The company has developed the XTR-0 prototype platform, which enables the development of ultra-efficient AI algorithms by providing low-latency communication between Extropic chips and traditional processors. Extropic has also released THRML, an open-source Python library that enables developers to create thermodynamic algorithms and simulate running them on TSUs. The technology aims to dramatically reduce the amount of electricity needed to run AI models while automating coding tasks, addressing the growing energy consumption crisis in AI computing. Extropic's thermodynamic computing paradigm represents a new category of computing hardware entirely, moving beyond traditional von Neumann architecture and GPU-based acceleration to leverage physical processes directly for computation. The company has been featured in Wired Magazine, TED AI San Francisco, and the Lex Fridman Podcast. Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Extropic has raised $14.1M in seed funding from investors including Kindred Ventures, HOF Capital, Julian Capital, Marque Ventures, OSS Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Weekend Fund, and Untapped Ventures.