How an Israeli startup is reducing carbon footprints

Last quarter Nvidia, which has become synonymous with graphics processing units (GPUs), officially announced its intent to purchase Tel Aviv-based Run:ai, a tech company that makes it easier for developers to manage their AI hardware infrastructure.

The value of the acquisition was not revealed, however it is estimated to be around $700 million. 

Nvidia has been no doubt the most talked about company in the first half of 2024, with its stock delivering a total return of 149.5%. However, as the world’s third most valuable public company continues to take over our imagination, another Israeli company that specializes in GPUs has been growing behind the scenes. 

Back in 2010 data analytics startup SQream, which has offices in Tel Aviv, New York and London, made a bet on GPUs being a foundation for enabling the processing of big data sets. That bet turned out to be correct, not only because of the explosion of AI and the data processing that it requires, but also because of the vast amount of data that individuals are producing daily. 

Fast forward to 2023 and the company, following its acquisition of no-code data platform Panoply, had announced new funding of $45 million.

Now the company is introducing its State of Big Data Analytics Report, which looks to bode well for the Israeli company and the region’s tech ecosystem.

AI transforming the global economy

According to Google Israel and RISE Israel, there are more than 2,300 AI startups active in Israel today.

These companies are increasingly relying on GPUs, which are a type of advanced processing chip that, until recently, was heavily leveraged by the gaming industry due to being originally designed to accelerate computer image processing.

If there is any question about GPU’s new dominance, it can be found in the numbers. The market worldwide for GPUs is already valued at $65.3 billion, and is projected to increase nearly five-fold by 2030. 

Meanwhile, Nvidia, a name already synonymous with the AI revolution, has been generating a large part of its recent revenue boom thanks to GPU chips such as the H200 Tensor Core, that are particularly popular with CTOs. 

Yet a question remains: why are entrepreneurs in Israel and across the globe increasingly turning to GPUs for AI projects? 

Getting skyrocketing costs under control 

Investments into Israeli startups developing GenAI technologies are exploding, having increased by approximately 85% from 2020 to 2023. The country ranks among the top 10 ecosystems for AI.

AI’s adoption continues to be adopted by both consumers and businesses across Israel and the globe. To illustrate, in 2017 just 17% of companies had integrated AI into their operations. However, by 2023 more than 50% of enterprises with over 5,000 employees were using AI, rising to 60% for those with over 10,000 employees. 

At the same time, not all is rosy. For AI to be successful in the long run it must also deliver against cost-performance metrics, and many decision makers have found in recent years that the surge in data has caused expenditures to skyrocket. 

As a result, AI projects are being shelved due to out-of-proportion costs. The scale of this was put into focus by a new 2024 State of Big Data Analytics Report published this month by SQream

Based on a survey with 300 data experts at enterprises across the US, the report noted that 71% regularly experience ‘bill-shock’ associated with their projects. 

Further, despite the fact that all survey respondents have massive budgets, 98% still experience AI project failure, with poor ‘cost-performance’ highlighted as a major contributor to this.

The report also pointed towards a GPU-driven future for companies, with three in four executives noting that they are looking to GPUs in the future to realize more impact and value from their projects.

Reducing carbon footprints

According to the report, by using GPUs tech leaders are able to solve the cost-performance challenge that’s increasingly a headache across AI projects. From the time needed to process huge data sets to the number of queries being run, these chips can accelerate the pace of work, leading to major savings. 

In a nutshell, GPUs mean faster training and a more efficient infrastructure. This, also, is promising news for the environment. As AI adoption has exploded in recent years, questions about environmental sustainability are also growing. 

While companies like OpenAI offer powerful AI tools, they also use large amounts of energy. Yet while all AI tasks will require servers and data centers, the impact can be greatly reduced by making systems more efficient. Companies such as SQream, led by Ami Gal, are enabling companies to handle much larger sets of data, resulting in businesses having a much smaller carbon footprint.

With GPUs performing in a much more efficient manner and taking less time to perform tasks, the overall efficiency gains they offer will help companies reduce the negative impact of their projects. As most organizations look to monitor and reduce their carbon footprint, finding more effective ways to run AI projects is critical. 

Israel’s renewables make up 10% of its power, which the country says will reach 30% by 2030.

Challenges do remain for this space, particularly due to concerns about a shortage of GPUs in the industry. The case for adopting GPUs to support AI is growing stronger by the day, and as their advantages become more known, demand will grow in turn. 

Decision makers, within Israel and across the globe, will need to ensure they move quickly to strategically deploy GPUs, partnering when needed to leverage this technology that is powering the next era of innovation.