The Symbolism

The symbolism of our mission is a blend of ancient Armenian art of khachkars and modern semiconductor lithography.

The structure simultaneously looks like a plus and multiplication signs – the two fundamental arithmetic operations that define a compute unit.

In addition, the symbol is also a deliberate stylization of the three-dimensional gate architecture of a (FinFET) transistor, which is produced through modern semiconductor photolithography (more commonly known simply as “lithography”).

Photolithography comes from the Greek words φωτός (phōtós, “of light”) and λίθος (líthos, “stone”), which can be viewed as the art of etching meaning and function into hard matter with light.

Armenian artists have practiced a similar art for over a millennium: the khachkar, the cross-stone, where master craftsmen carved intricate lacework into volcanic tuff – encoding theological and cosmological meaning into stone – with the light of the soul.

Thus, photolithography and khachkar-making are, at some symbolic level, deeply kindred. Both are examples of how even something as primitive and lifeless as a piece of rock can turn into a thing of much greater value – if you simply shine some light on it.