Kneron – an AI startup based in Taiwan, has emerged as a pioneer in the field of Edge AI.
Funded by renowned investors including Himax, Qualcomm, CDIB, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, and Horizons Ventures, Kneron is unveiling its ground-breaking 3D artificial intelligence solution and edge AI chip.
Named after its release date of May 20th, the AI Chip “KL520” offers the best-in-class power efficiency only consuming a few hundred megawatts, bringing AI computation power to edge devices for various applications.
The KL520 edge AI chip is a culmination of Kneron’s core technologies which combines its proprietary software and hardware designs to create a highly efficient and ultra-low-power Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This software innovation allows the chip to dynamically adjust its function based on applications needs so as to achieve maximum efficiency.
The KL520 is also equipped with a proprietary compression technology that is able to compress a large AI neural network into a very small footprint to process on the edge device, without sacrificing large amounts of power.
Targeted applications for the KL520 include:
- The KL520 can run alongside the main chip as a co-processor, and therefore will not need a replacement chip
- For smart door lock applications, the KL520 includes 2 ARM Cortex M4 CPUs, which can serve as the main processor.
- The chip balances the need for performance, power, and costs to bring the best solution for edge applications
- It is applicable to various 3D sensor technologies such as structured light, dual-camera, and ToF, as well as Kneron’s exclusive 3D sensing technology
- It is also very well-suited for applications including smart locks, security cameras, drones, smart home appliances, and robotics
During the product launch event, Kneron’s Founder and CEO, Albert Liu said: “We are determined to deliver the best-in-class edge AI solution to the market. The results that we have achieved over the past four years are very promising, and we are proud to receive recognition from industry partners for our innovations.”
Liu also mentioned that Kneron will be releasing its second-generation chip during Q4 this year, targeted toward the surveillance and security market. The team will also be exhibiting at CES Asia 2019 in June, showcasing Kneron’s latest products to partners and potential customers.
