Startup wants to replace the silicon in your smartphone with diamonds

Chances are you’ve never heard of Akhan Semiconductor, but the company is well on its way to producing the hardware at the heart of your next smartphone, smartwatch, laptop, or virtual reality headset. The new components won’t only last longer and perform better than today’s tech, but their environmental impact will be much less severe, too. The big secret? Diamonds.

Instead of making processing chips out of silicon, Akhan is using jewelry’s favorite gem stone.