Seeking Proposals: Cerebras Inference Research Funding Opportunity

Cerebras’ Commitment to Advancing AI: A Groundbreaking Opportunity for Researchers

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is undeniably one of the most revolutionary technologies of our era, with its potential to transform various facets of our lives. At the forefront of this transformation is Cerebras, a pioneering company devoted to accelerating the development and deployment of AI. Cerebras is committed to making AI faster, more user-friendly, and energy-efficient, thereby enhancing its accessibility globally.

Cerebras’ latest offering, the third-generation Wafer Scale Engine, has set new benchmarks in AI inference. This innovative solution delivers over 2,100 tokens per second for Llama-3.1-70b, which is an impressive 16 times faster than the most advanced GPU solutions available today. This leap in performance underscores Cerebras’ dedication to pushing the boundaries of AI technology.

In line with its mission, Cerebras is inviting university faculty and researchers to participate in a Request for Proposals (RFP) aimed at advancing the field of Generative AI. This initiative seeks to support groundbreaking research that leverages Cerebras’ cutting-edge technology to explore new techniques, applications, and insights in AI. Through this RFP, Cerebras aims to foster collaborations that will push the frontiers of state-of-the-art AI research, contributing significantly to the broader scientific and technological communities.

Grant Opportunities for Researchers

Selected Principal Investigators (PIs) who respond to this RFP may receive substantial support, including Cerebras Inference service credits worth up to $50,000 USD. These credits can be used to access Cerebras’ powerful inference capabilities, enabling researchers to explore and test their innovative ideas. Additionally, Cerebras will provide tutorials and hands-on sessions with its engineers and researchers, offering valuable guidance and insights into utilizing Cerebras technology effectively. The final grant amount and details will be determined by Cerebras based on the merits of the proposals.

Focus Areas for Proposals

Proposals should center around Generative AI, utilizing Cerebras Inference and the inference token grants provided. While proposals aligned with the recommended areas will be prioritized, Cerebras is open to considering any proposal that leverages inference tokens to advance the field of Generative AI. Here are some recommended areas of focus:

1. Enhancing Inference Quality with Compute Capabilities
   • Research areas may encompass prompting techniques like chain-of-thought, ReACT, and programmable prompt customization.
   • In-Context Learning (ICL) and inference decoding algorithms such as sampling, chain-of-thought decoding, and contrastive decoding.
   • Meta-generation algorithms that integrate language models within broader generation programs, such as best-of-N, majority voting, self-consistency, and tool-calling.
   • Utilizing additional knowledge bases through iterative multi-step retrieval, reasoning, and generation.
2. Enabling Long-Form Generation
   • Research may involve planning content structure, style, and analogies.
   • Iterative writing, reflection, and refinement processes.
   • Editing documents based on user guidance for collaborative content creation.
3. Model Evaluations and Safety Benchmarks
   • Developing robust benchmarks and metrics to assess model quality, reliability, safety, and bias.
   • Novel approaches to operate generative models responsibly, focusing on measuring, preventing, and mitigating hallucinations, biases, and other harmful outputs.
4. Generating High-Quality Synthetic Data
   • Innovative methods for producing large-scale synthetic datasets with precisely defined properties using generative models.
   • Filtering techniques to ensure quality and diversity in generated samples.

     Timeline for Proposal Submission

     The submission period for proposals will commence on December 2, 2024, and conclude on January 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM PT. Decision letters will be sent out in February 2025, notifying researchers of their proposal’s status.

     Application Requirements

     Before submitting a proposal, it is essential to confirm that your institution agrees to a contract for sponsored research from Cerebras. All intellectual property rights shall belong to the university, and the agreement will operate under "Open Science" terms, ensuring that all research findings are accessible for public dissemination.

     The application package should include:

   • A concise English summary of the project (1–2 pages) outlining the area of focus, techniques involved, usage of inference credits, and a timeline with milestones and expected outcomes.
   • Contact details of the Principal Investigator, including full name, title, academic institution, department, email address, phone number, mailing address, and country.
   • Curriculum Vitae for all project participants.

     Eligibility Criteria

     Proposals must comply with all applicable US and international laws, regulations, and policies. Applicants must be current full-time faculty members at an accredited academic institution that awards research degrees to PhD students. The applicant must be the Principal Investigator on any resulting grant. Cerebras will not consider proposals submitted by individuals residing in, or affiliated with, institutions located in countries subject to comprehensive U.S. trade sanctions or other restrictions preventing access to Cerebras inference services. Government officials, political figures, and politically affiliated businesses are not eligible.

     Terms and Conditions

     Applicants are urged to read the terms carefully before submitting their proposals. Cerebras’ decisions are final in all matters related to RFP solicitations, including funding selections and the interpretation of RFP Terms and Conditions. By submitting a proposal, applicants affirm their understanding and agreement with these Terms and Conditions. Cerebras reserves the right to evaluate proposals and consult with external experts. Applicants agree not to challenge any decisions made by Cerebras. Cerebras may use, edit, modify, copy, reproduce, and distribute all or portions of the proposal for the purposes of administering the RFP and evaluating its contents. Cerebras is under no obligation to review or consider any proposal. All credits or funding provided by Cerebras must comply with applicable laws and not be used for any illegal activities.

     In conclusion, Cerebras is providing an extraordinary opportunity for researchers to contribute to the advancement of Generative AI. By leveraging Cerebras’ technology and support, researchers can explore innovative ideas and contribute to the broader scientific community. This RFP represents a significant step towards realizing the full potential of AI and transforming it into a force for positive change globally.

     For more information, researchers are encouraged to visit the official Cerebras website.

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