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Brainchip announced mass production of its Akida AKD 1000 chips. Picture: Getty Images

Brainchip begins mass production of its neuromorphic AI chips

Tech

4 hours ago | Eddy Sunarto

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AI technology company Brainchip (ASX:BRN) announced that it has begun volume manufacturing of is Akida AKD1000 neuromorphic processor chips for use in edge AI devices.

The chip was designed in collaboration with Socionext, a global developer of advanced SoC (System on Chips) solutions. Socionext has released the production version of the AKD1000 chips to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing company for mass production. Units are expected to be available by August 2021.

Brainchip will begin to supply the chips to customers in strategic end markets who have purchased the Akida evaluation systems for a range of edge applications.

The Brainchip Akida AKD1000 AI chips

Brainchip says it has solved the problems inherent in moving AI out of the data center and to the location where data is created: the edge.

Edge applications are AI-based systems that reduce the volume of data and traffic from one place to another, with applications ranging from autonomous cars, home systems, and even smart cities.

The IP-protected Akida neuromorphic processors are advanced neural networking processors that bring artificial intelligence to the edge, in a way that existing technologies are not capable.

Following testing, Brainchip has improved the design in both performance, efficiency, and scalability, adding additional operating modes for even lower power consumption than its original design.

The applications are numerous. For example, in automotive, the chips provides car makers with a cost effective way to perform real-time, in-vehicle preventative care by running noise and vibration analysis, without human intervention.

It already has an IP licence agreement with Renesas Electronics America, a tier-one semiconductor manufacturer, along with a deal with NASA, providing the space agency with the Akida Early Access Evaluation Kit to enable NASA to evaluate the Akida neuromorphic processor to see if it meets spaceflight requirements.

Brainchip results

The company reported a loss of $26.8 million for FY20, a 137 per cent increase from the loss of $11.3 million it incurred in FY19.

The share price rose by 7 per cent today following the news, and has risen by more than 1,200 per cent over the past 12 months.