BrainChip Pushes the Edge in 2023 with Akida Innovations, Expanded Partner Ecosystem

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BrainChip Holdings Ltd, the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based, neuromorphic AI IP, reflected on its achievements in the first quarter of 2023 that saw the launch of its second-generation Akida processor IP platform and key partnerships with AI leaders.

The 2nd generation Akida technology platform is a hyper-efficient, yet powerful neural processing system designed for embedded Edge AI applications. The latest Akida platform adds efficient 8-bit processing to go with advanced capabilities, such as spatial-temporal domain convolutions and Vision Transformer (ViT) acceleration, for an unprecedented level of performance in sub-watt devices, taking them from perception toward cognition.

Other technology advancements made to BrainChip’s IP portfolio in 2023 include integration of its Akida processor family with the Arm® Cortex®-M85 processor, demonstrating the company’s commitment to developing cutting-edge AI solutions that deliver exceptional performance and efficiency.

BrainChip also achieved tape-out of its AKD1500 reference design on GlobalFoundries’ 22nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technology. This milestone is part of validating BrainChip’s IP across different processes and foundries, empowering partners with varied global manufacturing options.

As part of their commitment to improving functionality and options for partners, BrainChip entered several strategic partnerships to expand its partner ecosystem:

• Intellisense Systems Inc. chose BrainChip’s neuromorphic technology to improve the cognitive communication capabilities on size, weight, and power (SWaP) constrained platforms (such as spacecraft and robotics) for commercial and government markets.
• Their partnership with Teksun demonstrates and proliferates BrainChip’s technology through Teksun product development channels, impacting the next generation of intelligent vehicles, smart homes, medicine, and industrial IoT.
• BrainChip’s partnership with emotion3D enables an ultra-low-power working environment with on-chip learning to make driving safer and enable next-level user experience.
• Working with AI Labs Inc., both companies are collaborating on next-generation application development, leveraging the Minsky™ AI Engine in a cost-effective, compelling solution to real-world problems.

BrainChip’s leadership in AI attracts top contributors from the industry as guests of its popular “This is Our Mission” Podcast. In addition to a fireside-chat episode featuring company executives, BrainChip spoke with Jeff Herbst, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of GFT Ventures, and Jean-Luc Chatelain, Managing Director and Global Chief Technology Officer of Accenture Applied Intelligence, to discuss the state of AI and the AI ecosystem at large.

Company executives leveraged their place at the forefront of the AI industry to share their knowledge and updates about the progress of Akida at leading events like Embedded World, technology showcases during CES, and as a Platinum Partner showcasing advanced edge machine learning innovation with an audience of invite-only guests as part of the Edge Impulse ML Series.

The company’s achievements have been well-documented in coverage initiated from leading business press, trade publications, and industry analysts. Among those covering BrainChip news this cycle are Barron’s, Edge Computing News, EE Journal, Electronics Weekly, Enterprise AI, Forbes, MarketWatch, Wall Street Online, and more. 

"As we move from milestone to milestone, our achievements for the first quarter of 2023 bode well for BrainChip’s growth,” said Nandan Nayampally, CMO of BrainChip. “From advancing the state of the art with our latest product developments to significantly expanding the ecosystem BrainChip inhabits through industry partnerships, we are pushing the edge of AI at a time of rapid market innovation.”