Tianhe Xingyi (supercomputer)

2023: Computer Announcement

On December 6, 2023, China introduced the first supercomputer on its own architecture. A high-performance complex called Tianhe Xingyi was developed by specialists from the National Supercomputing Center in Gaongzhou.

Against the backdrop of tough sanctions from the United States, the Chinese authorities are actively stimulating the development of their own microchip and high-performance computing (LDC) industry. The emergence of the Tianhe Xingyi system is proof that the PRC can create powerful supercomputers without the use of foreign processors.

China unveils first supercomputer on its own architecture

As of the specified date, the characteristics and performance indicators of the new LDC platform were not disclosed. But it is said that Tianhe Xingyi surpasses its predecessor in computing power, network connectivity efficiency, memory capacity and application performance - the Tianhe-2 complex, which is also located at the National Supercomputer Center in Gaongzhou.

In the ranking of the 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world (Tor-500) from November 2023, Tianhe-2 ranks 14th with a performance of 61.44 Pflops and a peak performance of 100.68 Pflops. In the period from 2013 to 2015 inclusive, Tianhe-2 was the leader in the Tor-500 list. However, the supercomputer then began to lose ground as the US government blacklisted the system's developer - the National University of Defense Technology -. Because of this, difficulties arose with the purchase of Intel processors, which are the basis of Tianhe-2.

According to some reports, in terms of performance, Tianhe Xingyi surpasses the Tianhe-2 system by about two times. This means that the performance of the new supercomputer can exceed 100 Pflops, making it one of the 10 most powerful in the world (as of early December 2023).^[1]

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