Krux
March 28, 2026
Samsung Bets on Thermodynamic Chips to Cool AI's Energy Problem
Published: March 28, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Updated: March 28, 2026 at 12:37 AM
100-word summary
Normal Computing raised $50 million from Samsung Catalyst Fund to build chips that run on thermodynamic physics instead of traditional transistors. The startup already taped out its first chip in August and claims partnerships with more than half the world's top-ten semiconductor companies by revenue. Samsung's lead investment signals the industry is looking beyond incremental tweaks to traditional chip designs. Normal has now raised $85 million total to prove that rethinking computation at the physics level can slash AI's ballooning energy costs. If thermodynamic computing actually works at commercial scale, data centers might finally stop doubling their power budgets every 18 months.
What happened
Normal Computing raised $50 million from Samsung Catalyst Fund to build chips that run on thermodynamic physics instead of traditional transistors. The startup already taped out its first chip in August and claims partnerships with more than half the world's top-ten semiconductor companies by revenue. Samsung's lead investment signals the industry is looking beyond incremental tweaks to traditional chip designs. Normal has now raised $85 million total to prove that rethinking computation at the physics level can slash AI's ballooning energy costs.
Why it matters
If thermodynamic computing actually works at commercial scale, data centers might finally stop doubling their power budgets every 18 months.