Sandia National Labs Deploys GPU-less, Storage-less Brain-Inspired Supercomputer
2025-06-06
Sandia National Labs has deployed SpiNNaker 2, a brain-inspired supercomputer that forgoes GPUs and internal storage. Supplied by SpiNNcloud, this top-five brain-inspired platform simulates 150-180 million neurons, achieving high speed through high-speed inter-chip communication and massive memory. Its energy-efficient architecture excels at complex event-driven computing and simulations, making it ideal for demanding national security applications like modeling nuclear deterrence missions. The system's architecture, initially developed by Arm pioneer Steve Furber, leverages 48 SpiNNaker 2 chips per server board, each with 152 cores and specialized accelerators.