SEMIFIVE, a leading global provider of custom AI semiconductor (ASIC) solutions, and ICY Tech, a Chinese AI semiconductor company, have announced the successful tape-out of next-generation Edge AI SoC jointly developed utilizing Samsung Foundry's 8nm (8LPU) embedded Magnetic Random Access Memory (eMRAM) technology. This marks a significant milestone toward the first commercial deployment of 8nm eMRAM technology in Asia.
Overview
The Edge AI SoC boasts on-device inference capabilities with up to 2 billion parameters, a significant leap towards ultra-low-power AI applications in devices like AI PCs and humanoid robots. This collaboration represents SEMIFIVE's first ASIC design project leveraging eMRAM technology.
What it does
The SoC integrates eMRAM into an Edge AI accelerator, enabling high-speed, on-device inference for models with up to 2 billion parameters in edge environments. This enables operation without any network connectivity, making it suitable for edge devices operating in offline environments, including AI PCs, private AI agents, and humanoid robots.
Tradeoffs
Compared to SRAM, eMRAM features a smaller bit cell, enabling higher data density within the same area. Unlike DRAM, it does not require periodic refresh operations, significantly reducing power consumption. With its non-volatile characteristics that retain data even when power is removed, eMRAM is widely regarded as a