Barring any hiccups, Qualcomm has agreed to purchase Edge Impulse for an undisclosed amount.
Edge Impulse is designed to simplify the process of developing and deploying machine learning on edge devices where computing power is normally limited. These devices include healthcare wearables, industrial IoT, retail, security, energy, supply chain and asset management. The platform has a suite of tools covering the entire workflow from data collection, model training, optimization and deployment.
Qualcomm intends to expand its abilities with AI and IoT, under the umbrella of its Dragonwing line of AI-powered chips. Dragonwing is designed to support Enterprise applications and prioritizes energy efficiency in resource constrained deployments.
Cofounder Zach Shelby writes on the company blog about starting the company with Jan Jongboom in 2019 and how joining Qualcomm will not change the company’s objectives, but extend its reach to the 170,000 developers that will now also be part of Qualcomm’s Dragonwing community.
He goes on to write: “In 2019, Jan Jongboom and I set out to democratize machine learning on edge compute for millions of developers. Recognizing that the compute capabilities of microcontrollers had grown to the point where they were able to run domain specific AI models directly onboard, we realized there were an endless number of use cases that would benefit from moving AI from the cloud to the edge. But there was a missing piece: a way to easily build, optimize, and deploy edge and domain-specific AI models onto these devices.”
He elaborates that, “together we launched Edge Impulse, an end-to-end platform that streamlines the edge AI workflow. Instead of having to manually collect and format data, hand-code and train model architectures, convert and compile models, and test for viability, Edge Impulse gives developers a tool that automates data collection, simplifies model training, provides advanced optimization tools, and offers one-click deployment to many types of hardware, from MCUs to CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs.”
It’s used by Fortune 100 companies deploying AI globally.
By integrating with Qualcomm Technologies, Edge Impulse developers will have the ability to target Dragonwing platforms, which feature superior AI inferencing, computer vision, graphics and processing capabilities. This is already launched and you can try it out today .
Shelby goes on to point out that, by joining Qualcomm, they “accelerate support for computer vision, audio, speech recognition, and Generative AI, on extremely capable Dragonwing processors…[while] continuing support for edge hardware from our wide partner base, including MCUs, CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs. As always, you can deploy your models to your favorite hardware with Edge Impulse.”
For Qualcomm, Edge Impulse suite adds an “intuitive Edge AI Workflow: Regardless of your experience level, benefit from a complete and intuitive edge AI development workflow. Go from data preparation and AI experimentation to optimizing and deploying AI models on a wide range of edge hardware, including Dragonwing processors, which you can try today.”
I have to applaud Shelby’s detail showing how to deploy to Qualcomm Technologies’ Hardware with Edge Impulse for the benefit of developers.
The Edge Impulse platform works with Qualcomm Technologies’ edge AI workflow and tools like the Qualcomm AI Hub and Foundries.io, allowing for even greater access to new models, testing environments, and deployment options.
Qualcomm’s announcement tones it down a bit, but Nakul Duggal, group general manager, automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and cloud computing, Qualcomm Technologies, says, “We are thrilled about the opportunity to significantly enhance our IoT offerings with Edge Impulse’s advanced AI-powered end-to-end platform that will complement our strategic approach to IoT transformation. We anticipate that this acquisition will strengthen our leadership in AI and developer enablement, enhancing our ability to provide comprehensive technology for critical sectors such as retail, security, energy and utilities, supply chain management, and asset management. IoT opens the door for a myriad of opportunities, and success is about building real-world solutions, enabling developers and enterprises with AI capabilities to extract intelligence from data, and providing them with the tools to build the applications and services that will power the digital transformation of industries.”
The components of Qualcomm Technologies’ approach to IoT include:
Comprehensive chipset roadmap: Application processors and connectivity chips tailored to meet the diverse requirements of industry sectors and devices
Unified software architecture: Software designed for consistency and efficiency across platforms to reduce development and maintenance costs, and enhance security
Suite of services: Cloud services and software-as-a-service capabilities to facilitate commercialization and expand the capabilities of industrial and embedded applications
Developer resources: Hardware and software development kits to support IoT developers
Ecosystem partners: A network of distributors, independent hardware and software vendors, design centers and system integrators, ODMs and OEMs
Solutions: Purpose-built offerings developed in collaboration with industrial and enterprise customers, using the Company’s technologies and engineering expertise to tackle tough challenges
IoT blueprints: Curated set of technologies, ecosystem partners and solutions to address the needs of multiple industries
Let’s hope Shelby is right and the Edge Impulse enthusiasm inspires innovation in AIoT.
Edited by
Erik Linask
