Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a renowned semiconductor solutions provider, has announced a strategic collaboration with EdgeCortix, a leading provider of energy-efficient AI processing solutions at the edge. This partnership marks a significant move in advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities for edge applications.
EdgeCortix, headquartered in Tokyo, is a startup focused on creating high-speed, low-power AI processors with a software-first approach. Their proprietary software and AI chip products significantly accelerate AI inference tasks with low power consumption and latency. Notably, their products, including MERA, Dynamic Neural Accelerator (DNA), and the power-efficient SAKURA AI co-processor, have showcased up to 50 times better energy efficiency and 10 times better performance compared to conventional GPUs and CPUs.
Renesas’ investment in EdgeCortix’s recent funding round solidifies this partnership, providing Renesas access to EdgeCortix’s leading-edge technology. Sailesh Chittipeddi, Executive Vice President of Renesas’ Embedded Processing, Digital Power, and Signal Chain Solutions Group, emphasized the potential of AI/ML at the edge. “The combination of our embedded processors and Reality AI Software along with EdgeCortix solutions will enable our customers to seamlessly compile their AI code with support for heterogeneous architectures, reducing their development risk, time, and cost,” said Chittipeddi.
The collaboration aims to streamline Renesas’ AI/ML developer experience across its entire Microcontroller Unit (MCU) and Micro Processing Unit (MPU) portfolio. By integrating EdgeCortix’s expertise in technologies like Apache TVM, compiler development, and heterogeneous framework design, Renesas intends to enhance its existing IP and hardware.
Sakyasingha Dasgupta, Founder and CEO of EdgeCortix, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, highlighting the shared vision for efficient AI/ML applications at the edge. “We are confident that both companies will benefit from this relationship, however, the real winners will be our collective customers,” stated Sakyasingha.
The collaboration between Renesas and EdgeCortix signifies a significant step forward in the development of advanced AI solutions, promising efficient and powerful applications for industries ranging from industrial to automotive, and beyond.
