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- New-age tech company BrainChip (BRN) has combined its Akida tech with Socionext’s artificial intelligence platform
- Socionext is a Japanese “system on a chip” developer
- The companies teamed up in June to develop BrainChip’s Akida technology
- Essentially, the Akida tech is a small chip with immense processing power
- The product will be available to customers through Socionext
- BrainChip shares have gained just over three per cent at lunchtime today, currently worth 3.4 cents each
New-age tech specialist BrainChip (BRN) has officially combined its Akida tech with a Socionext artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
Akida is what’s known as a “system on a chip” or SoC device. Essentially, this type of device has all the power of a personal computer built into one small chip.
Through a combination of hardware and software, well-built SoCs can have incredible processing, graphic, and performance capabilities, but do it all for a fraction of the power cost. The most common types of SoCs are found in smartphones or tablets.
Socionext is a Japanese SoC developer. BrainChip first teamed up with Socionext in June 2019 to develop and manufacture the Akida chip.
Today, BrainChip told shareholders the Akida product will be offered to customers by Socionext through the Japanese company’s AI platform.
Moreover, the product goes hand-in-hand with Socionext’s SynQuacer Multi-Core Processor. BrainChip’s Akida and Socionext’s SynQuacer can be combined to create a high-speed, high-density, low-power video and imaging analysis system.
BrainChip said the integrated products can be used in surveillance systems, live streams, and other applications to analyse, recognise, and segment sections of videos and photos.
This all falls under the umbrella of “edge” computing, which is the latest era of technology. Rather than relying on cloud-based tech which needs to connect to a far-away server to transmit information, edge tech does all of the processing in-house.
The idea of the “internet of things” is based around edge tech, where every electronic device in your home could be connected to the internet and thus to each other. When throwing AI into the mix, these devices can learn as they go and pick up information far quicker than normal as they process it through their own built-in SoC.
BrainChip CEO Louis DiNardo said the company’s tech is helping push this idea of ultra-low-power AI edge technology along.
“Edge devices have size and power consumption constraints that require a high degree of integration in IC [intergated chip] solutions. The combination of BrainChip’s technology and Socionext’s ASIC [application-specific integrated circuit] expertise fulfils the requirements of edge applications,” Louis explained.
Socionext Vice President Noriaki Kubo said the Akida tech will help Socionext stay at the forefront of the “burgeoning” AI market.
“BrainChip and Socionext have successfully collaborated on the Akida IC development and together, we aim to commercialize this product family and support our increasingly diverse customer base,” Noriaki said.
Brianchip shares are trading a slight 3.03 per cent higher at lunchtime AEDT, worth 3.4 cents each.
