Biren Technology Explained

Biren Technology
Logo Alt:A blue capital B
Industry:Semiconductors
Predecessors:-->
Founders:Lingjie Xu and others
Successors:-->
Hq Location City:Shanghai
Hq Location Country:China
Areas Served:-->
Products:BR100, BR104
Owners:-->
S:上海壁仞科技股份有限公司
T:上海壁仞科技股份有限公司
P:Shànghǎi Bìrèn Kējì Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī
Order:st

Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology Co. is a Chinese fabless semiconductor design company.[1] [2] The company was founded in 2019 by Lingjie Xu and others, all of whom were previously employed at NVIDIA or Alibaba or ST.[3] Biren has advertised two general-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs), the BR100 and BR104.[4] Both cards are aimed at artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.[5]

As a result of U.S sanctions effective in October 2022 regarding exportation of advanced computing devices and manufacturing materials, Biren's contracted semiconductor manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) halted all manufacturing of the company's products.[6] In an apparent effort to get around a stipulation of the U.S. sanctions, Biren reportedly modified their BR100 GPU to be able to process less data, so that it would not qualify for restriction for its manufacturer, TSMC.[7] [8]

U.S. sanctions

In October 2023, the United States Department of Commerce added Biren Technology to the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List[9]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: 2022-03-28 . China Chip Startup Biren Seeking Funds at $2.7 Billion Valuation . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-02-05.
  2. Web site: U.S. vs. China: The Race to Develop the Most Advanced Chips . 2023-02-05 . Wall Street Journal . en.
  3. News: Lee . Jane Lanhee . Nellis . Stephen . 2022-09-08 . Analysis: U.S. ban on Nvidia, AMD chips seen boosting Chinese rivals . en . Reuters . 2023-02-05.
  4. Web site: Shilov . Anton . 2022-08-10 . Chinese Biren's New GPUs Have 77 Billion Transistors, 2 PFLOPS of AI Performance . 2023-02-05 . Tom's Hardware . en.
  5. Web site: Peckham . Oliver . 2022-08-23 . Chinese Startup Biren Details BR100 GPU . 2023-02-05 . HPCwire . en-US.
  6. News: 2022-10-22 . TSMC Suspends Work for Chinese Chip Startup Amid US Curbs . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-02-05.
  7. News: 2022-11-07 . Chinese chip designers slow down processors to dodge US sanctions . Financial Times . 2023-02-05.
  8. Web site: Dobberstein . Laura . Chipmakers slow down products to evade US China ban . 2023-02-05 . www.theregister.com . en.
  9. Web site: 2023-10-18. 美更新对华芯片出口控制规定,你需要知道的四大要点. 2023-10-18. 美国之音. zh.