Appendix 1 - Neuromorphic Processor companies

Neuromorphic hardware, software, and systems

Companies directly involved in the development of Neuromorphic Processor technology for AI and other applications, include:

AIStorm

Brief description of the technology architecture: AIStorm develops AI chips that use a unique analog architecture to perform edge computing tasks. The chips are designed to process sensor data directly, rather than relying on a digital signal processor (DSP) or microcontroller. This allows for low-power and high-speed processing of sensor data for applications such as object detection, gesture recognition, and voice recognition.

Brief description of the technology applications: AIStorm's AI chips have applications in various industries, including automotive, industrial IoT, and mobile devices. They can be used for tasks such as real-time object detection, predictive maintenance, and natural language processing.

Founders: David Schie and AI pioneer Avi Strum founded AIStorm.

Founded: 2017

Startup funding: AIStorm has raised over $13 million in startup funding.

Total investments to date: AIStorm has raised over $13 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: AIStorm's lead investors include Egis Technology, Darpa, and ITIC.

Head office Location: AIStorm's headquarters are in Sunnyvale, California.

Current status: AIStorm is a private company and its current status is active.

Website: https://aistorm.ai/

Annapurna

Brief description of the technology architecture: Annapurna develops custom-designed chips and systems for cloud infrastructure, storage, and networking. Their technology architecture is optimized for high performance, low power consumption, and scalability.

Brief description of the technology applications: Annapurna's chips and systems are used in cloud data centers, enterprise storage, and networking applications. They are designed to accelerate data processing and improve energy efficiency in these applications.

Founders: Annapurna was founded by semiconductor industry veterans Umesh Padval and Avigdor Willenz.

Founded: 2011

Startup funding: Annapurna raised $70 million in Series C funding in 2013.

Total investments to date: Annapurna has raised $70 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: Annapurna's lead investors include Walden Riverwood Ventures, Battery Ventures, and Pitango Venture Capital.

Head office Location: Annapurna's headquarters are in San Jose, California.

Current status: Annapurna was acquired by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2015 and is now part of AWS.

Website: https://aws.amazon.com/annapurna/

Blaize

Brief description of the technology architecture: Blaize develops programmable and low-power AI chips that use a graph-based architecture to accelerate AI workloads. The chips are designed for edge computing devices and can perform a range of tasks, including computer vision and natural language processing.

Brief description of the technology applications: Blaize's AI chips have applications in various industries, including automotive, smart cities, and retail. They can be used for tasks such as object detection, predictive maintenance, and voice recognition.

Founders: Dinakar Munagala and Dr. Gideon Intrater founded Blaize.

Founded: 2010

Startup funding: Blaize has raised over $87 million in startup funding.

Total investments to date: Blaize has raised over $87 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: Blaize's lead investors include DENSO, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Daimler AG.

Head office Location: Blaize's headquarters are in El Dorado Hills, California.

Current status: Blaize is a private company and its current status is active.

Website: https://www.blaize.com/

BrainChip

Brief description of the technology architecture: BrainChip has developed an AI processor called Akida, which is designed to provide high performance and low power consumption for edge applications. The processor uses neuromorphic computing technology, which mimics the way the human Brain processes information.

Brief description of the technology applications: BrainChip's technology is used for a wide range of AI applications, including object detection, gesture recognition, and anomaly detection. The company's systems are used by research institutions, academic labs, and commercial enterprises.

Founders: BrainChip was founded by Peter van der Made.

Founded: 2011

Startup funding: The company raised $1.5 million in its initial funding round in 2013.

Total investments to date: BrainChip has raised over $27 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: The company's lead investors include Harbert Australian Growth Capital, LDA Capital, and Alium Capital.

Head office Location: BrainChip is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, USA.

Current status: BrainChip is a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:BRA) and the OTCQX market in the United States.

Website: https://www.brainchipinc.com/

Cerebras Systems

Brief description of the technology architecture: Cerebras Systems has developed a chip called the Wafer Scale Engine (WSE) that is the largest computer chip ever built, measuring at 8.5 inches by 8.5 inches. The WSE is designed specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, and contains 1.2 trillion transistors and 400,000 AI cores, making it significantly faster than traditional AI hardware.

Brief description of the technology applications: Cerebras' technology is used for a wide range of AI applications, including natural language processing, image and voice recognition, and drug discovery. The company's systems are used by research institutions, academic labs, and commercial enterprises.

Founders: The company was founded by Andrew Feldman.

Founded: 2016

Startup funding: The company raised $25 million in its Series A funding round in 2017.

Total investments to date: Cerebras has raised over $680 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: The company's lead investors include Benchmark, Sequoia Capital, and NEA.

Head office Location: Cerebras Systems is headquartered in Los Altos, California, USA.

Cerebras Systems is a private company that is currently operating and expanding.

Website: https://cerebras.net/

DeePhi

Brief description of the technology architecture: DeePhi is a deep learning startup that develops software and hardware solutions to enable efficient and high-performance deep learning on edge devices. The company's technology architecture is built around deep compression algorithms and low-power processing units for edge devices.

Brief description of the technology applications: DeePhi's technology is used in a variety of industries and applications, including image and video processing, natural language processing, and autonomous driving.

Founders: Song Yao, Yushu Shi, and Lin Yang.

Founded: 2016

Startup funding: DeePhi has raised a total of $12.5 million in funding over two rounds.

Total investments to date: $12.5 million.

Lead investors: Deppon Logistics, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Xilinx.

Head office Location: Beijing, China.

Current status: Acquired by Xilinx in 2018.

Website: DeePhi's website is no longer active following its acquisition by Xilinx.

Esperanto:

Brief description of the technology architecture: Esperanto's technology architecture is based on the RISC-V open-source instruction set architecture, which allows for more efficient and customizable chip design. Esperanto has developed a range of custom processors and accelerators that can be used for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) workloads, as well as general-purpose computing tasks.

Brief description of the technology applications: Esperanto's processors and accelerators can be used for a range of AI and ML workloads, including image recognition, natural language processing, and speech recognition. They can also be used for general-purpose computing tasks in data centers and other high-performance computing environments.

Founders: Dave Ditzel (Founder and CEO), Dave Patterson (Co-Founder), and Yunsup Lee (Co-Founder).

Founded: 2014

Startup funding: Esperanto raised $58 million in a Series B funding round in 2018.

Total investments to date: The total investment in Esperanto is not publicly disclosed.

Lead investors: The lead investor in Esperanto's Series B funding round was AI chipmaker Ampere Computing.

Head office Location: Mountain View, California, USA.

Current status: Esperanto is currently operating as a privately held company.

Website: https://www.esperanto.ai/

Eta Compute

Brief description of the technology architecture: Eta Compute develops ultra-low power AI edge computing solutions using its patented Continuous Voltage Frequency Scaling (CVFS) technology that allows devices to operate in subthreshold voltages, resulting in up to 10 times less power consumption compared to other architectures.

Brief description of the technology applications: Eta Compute's technology is designed for the Internet of Things (IoT) and other edge devices, enabling them to perform AI and machine learning tasks locally and with minimal power consumption. Its applications include predictive maintenance, voice recognition, image classification, and anomaly detection.

Founders: Dr. Gopalakrishnan "Gopa" Chandra, Dr. Praveen Raghavan, and Dr. Michael "Mike" Doerr.

Founded: 2015

Startup funding: Eta Compute has raised $27 million in funding to date.

Total investments to date: $27 million

Lead investors: Walden International, Walden Riverwood Ventures, and Ensemble Ventures.

Head office Location: Westlake Village, California, United States

Current status: Active

Website: https://etacompute.com/

Google TPU

Brief description of the technology architecture: Google is a multinational technology company that has developed the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), which is a custom-designed chip specifically optimized for machine learning applications. The TPU is designed to accelerate machine learning workloads and enable more efficient and powerful data processing.

Brief description of the technology applications: The TPU is used within Google to power its own machine learning services, including Google Translate, Google Photos, and Google Cloud Machine Learning Engine. Additionally, the TPU can be used by third-party developers who are looking to run machine learning workloads on the Google Cloud Platform.

Founders: Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Founded: 1998

Startup funding: Initial investment of $100,000 from Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim.

Total investments to date: Google has not relied heavily on external funding and has been largely self-funded since its inception.

Lead investors: The largest institutional investors in Google stock include The Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corporation

Head office Location: Mountain View, California, United States.

Current status: Publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol GOOGL.

Website: https://www.google.com

Graphcore

Brief description of the technology architecture: Graphcore has developed a new processor for AI and machine learning called the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU). The IPU is designed to handle both training and inference in Neural Networks, and offers significant improvements in performance and efficiency compared to traditional hardware.

Brief description of the technology applications: Graphcore's technology is used for a wide range of AI applications, including natural language processing, image and voice recognition, and autonomous vehicles. The company's systems are used by research institutions, academic labs, and commercial enterprises.

Founders: Graphcore was founded by Nigel Toon and Simon Knowles.

Founded: 2016

Startup funding: The company raised $30 million in its Series A funding round in 2016.

Total investments to date: Graphcore has raised over $700 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: The company's lead investors include Sequoia Capital, Atomico, and BMW i Ventures.

Head office Location: Graphcore is headquartered in Bristol, UK.

Current status: Graphcore is a private company that is currently operating and expanding.

Website: https://www.graphcore.ai/

Groq

Brief description of the technology architecture: Groq has developed a tensor processing unit (TPU) that is designed to accelerate machine learning workloads. The TPU is designed to handle both training and inference in Neural Networks, and offers high performance and efficiency compared to traditional hardware.

Brief description of the technology applications: Groq's technology is used for a wide range of AI applications, including natural language processing, image and video analysis, and autonomous vehicles. The company's systems are used by research institutions, academic labs, and commercial enterprises.

Founders: Groq was founded by Jonathan Ross, Douglas Wightman, and Jonathan Bachrach.

Founded: 2016

Startup funding: The company raised $10.3 million in its Series A funding round in 2017.

Total investments to date: Groq has raised over $347 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: The company's lead investors include Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital, Tiger Global, and Capital G.

Head office Location: Groq is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Current status: Groq is a private company that is currently operating and expanding.

Website: https://groq.com/

Habana

Brief description of the technology architecture: Habana specializes in developing deep learning processors and training accelerators based on their unique Gaudi architecture. The architecture features a scalable, programmable, and efficient design that leverages Habana's extensive experience in software, algorithms, and hardware engineering.

Brief description of the technology applications: Habana's processors and accelerators are designed to enable faster and more efficient deep learning training and inference across a range of industries and use cases, such as natural language processing, computer vision, recommendation systems, and more.

Founders: Avigdor Willenz, Ran Halutz, David Dahan, and Shlomo Rakib.

Founded: 2016

Startup funding: $120 million.

Total investments to date: Over $300 million.

Lead investors: Intel Capital, WRVI Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Battery Ventures.

Head office Location: Tel Aviv, Israel.

Current status: Active and growing.

Website: https://habana.ai/

Hailo

Brief description of the technology architecture: Hailo develops specialized AI chips that use a unique architecture to optimize performance and energy efficiency. The chips are designed to accelerate AI workloads and can be used in a wide range of devices, from cameras to self-driving cars.

Brief description of the technology applications: Hailo's AI chips have applications in various industries, including automotive, smart cities, and retail. They can be used for tasks such as object detection, facial recognition, and autonomous driving.

Founders: Orr Danon and Avi Baum founded Hailo.

Founded: 2017

Startup funding: Hailo has raised over $88 million in startup funding.

Total investments to date: Hailo has raised over $88 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: Hailo's lead investors include Intel Capital, NEC Corporation, and ABB Technology Ventures.

Head office Location: Hailo's headquarters are in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Current status: Hailo is a private company and its current status is active.

Website: https://www.hailotech.com/

Horizon Robotics

Brief description of the technology architecture: Horizon Robotics develops AI edge computing processors that combine AI algorithms and computing power in a single chip. Their architecture features an AI accelerator engine that can support various types of Neural Networks, as well as a highly parallel computing engine that can process data in real-time.

Brief description of the technology applications: Horizon Robotics' technology is used in a range of applications such as autonomous vehicles, surveillance cameras, smart homes, and industrial automation.

Founders: Yu Kai, Chang Huang, Kai Yu

Founded: 2015

Startup funding: The company has raised over $900 million in funding to date.

Total investments to date: Over $900 million

Lead investors: Intel Capital, Hillhouse Capital Group, SK China, 5Y Capital, and other venture capital firms.

Head office Location: Beijing, China

Current status: Active and privately held

Website: https://en.horizon.ai/

IBM (TrueNorth NeuromorphicChip)

Brief description of the technology architecture: The TrueNorth neuromorphic chip is a Brain-inspired computing architecture developed by IBM. It uses a network of simple processing units that communicate through spikes, mimicking the way neurons in the Brain communicate.

Brief description of the technology applications: TrueNorth's technology has potential applications in a wide range of fields, including image and speech recognition, autonomous vehicles, and robotics. The chip is particularly well-suited for processing large amounts of data with low power consumption.

Founders: TrueNorth was developed by a team of researchers at IBM led by Dharmendra Modha.

Founded: 2011

Startup funding: TrueNorth was developed within IBM, so there was no traditional startup funding round.

Total investments to date: TrueNorth was developed within IBM, so there is no investment information available.

Lead investors: N/A

Head office Location: IBM's headquarters are in Armonk, New York, USA.

Current status: TrueNorth was developed within IBM and has since been incorporated into the company's research and development efforts.

Website: TrueNorth doesn't have a separate company website, but information about the technology can be found on IBM's website.

Intel (Nervana Systems)

Brief description of the technology architecture: Nervana Systems developed a deep learning acceleration platform called Nervana Engine, which is designed to provide high performance and energy efficiency for AI workloads. The platform uses custom hardware and software optimized for deep learning algorithms.

Brief description of the technology applications: Nervana Systems' technology is used for a wide range of AI applications, including image and speech recognition, natural language processing, and autonomous vehicles. The company's systems are used by research institutions, academic labs, and commercial enterprises.

Founders: Nervana Systems was founded by Naveen Rao, Amir Khosrowshahi, and Arjun Bansal.

Founded: 2014

Startup funding: Nervana Systems raised $24.4 million in its initial funding round in 2015.

Total investments to date: Nervana Systems raised a total of $89 million in funding before being acquired by Intel in 2016.

Lead investors: The company's lead investors include DFJ, Data Collective, and Lux Capital.

Head office Location: Nervana Systems was headquartered in San Diego, California, USA.

Current status: Nervana Systems was acquired by Intel in 2016 and is now a subsidiary of Intel Corporation.

Website: Nervana Systems' website is no longer active as a separate entity. Information about the technology can be found on Intel's website.

Kneron

Brief description of the technology architecture: Kneron's technology architecture includes both hardware and software components that enable edge AI solutions. Its hardware includes a chip that can run AI algorithms efficiently on the edge, while its software includes an AI model compression and optimization tool called "Neural Processing Unit Compiler" (NPC).

Brief description of the technology applications: Kneron's technology can be used for a variety of edge AI applications, such as facial recognition, object detection, and voice recognition. Its solutions can be integrated into smart home devices, security systems, drones, and more.

Founders: Albert Liu

Founded: 2015

Startup funding: $73 million

Total investments to date: $73 million

Lead investors: CDIB Capital, Himax Technologies, Qualcomm Ventures, Thundersoft, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund

Head office Location: San Diego, California, United States; Taipei, Taiwan; Shenzhen, China

Current status: Active

Website: https://www.kneron.com/

Mythic

Brief description of the technology architecture: Mythic has developed a chip-based solution for AI and machine learning called the M1108 Analog Matrix Processor (AMP). The AMP is designed to provide high performance and energy efficiency by using analog computation rather than digital.

Brief description of the technology applications: Mythic's technology is used for a wide range of AI applications, including natural language processing, image recognition, and voice control. The company's systems are used by research institutions, academic labs, and commercial enterprises.

Founders: Mythic was founded by Mike Henry and Dave Fick.

Founded: 2012

Startup funding: The company raised $9.3 million in its Series A funding round in 2017.

Total investments to date: Mythic has raised over $56 million in funding to date.

Lead investors: The company's lead investors include SoftBank Ventures, Lux Capital, and Data Collective.

Head office Location: Mythic is headquartered in Redwood City, California, USA.

Current status: Mythic is a private company that is currently operating and expanding.

Website: https://www.mythic-ai.com/

SambaNova Systems

Brief description of the technology architecture: SambaNova Systems has developed a scalable, hardware and software platform for AI and machine learning called the SambaFlow System. The platform combines custom hardware and software to enable efficient training and inference of large AI models.

Brief description of the technology applications: SambaNova's technology is used for a wide range of AI applications, including natural language processing, computer vision, and autonomous systems. The company's systems are used by research institutions, academic labs, and commercial enterprises. [16.6] [16.7]

Founders: SambaNova Systems was founded by Rodrigo Liang, Rodrigo Schmidt, and Kunle Olukotun.

Founded: 2017

Startup funding: The company raised $56 million in its Series A funding round in 2018.

Total investments to date: SambaNova has raised over $1 billion in funding to date.

Lead investors: The company's lead investors include SoftBank, BlackRock, and Intel Capital.

Head office Location: SambaNova Systems is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA.

Current status: SambaNova Systems is a private company that is currently operating and expanding.

Website: https://www.sambanova.ai/

Quadric.io

Brief description of the technology architecture: Quadric.io is developing an edge computing platform that combines hardware and software to accelerate AI workloads in autonomous systems, such as drones, robots, and autonomous cars.

Brief description of the technology applications: Quadric.io's technology can be used in various applications, such as autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, and smart city infrastructure.

Founders: Veerbhan Kheterpal, Nigel Drego

Founded: 2016

Startup funding: $15.5 million

Total investments to date: $15.5 million

Lead investors: Vinod Dham, Cyril Gupta, and other angel investors

Head office Location: San Jose, California, USA

Current status: Active

Website: https://www.quadric.io/

Wave Computing

Brief description of the technology architecture: Wave Computing develops custom-built AI systems and processors for various applications that require accelerated computing, such as deep learning, data analytics, and autonomous driving. The company's technology architecture is designed to accelerate AI workloads by processing data in parallel across multiple cores, enabling higher performance and lower power consumption.

Brief description of the technology applications: Wave Computing's AI systems and processors are used in a variety of applications, including natural language processing, image recognition, and speech recognition, among others. These applications are used in industries such as healthcare, finance, and automotive.

Founders: Derek Meyer, Jeff Moyer

Founded: 2010

Startup funding: Wave Computing has raised over $500 million in funding to date.

Total investments to date: Over $500 million

Lead investors: Tallwood Venture Capital, Oakmont Corporation, and several other investors.

Head office Location: Campbell, California, USA

Current status: In 2020, Wave Computing filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the company's assets were sold to an affiliate of Tallwood Venture Capital. The new company, MIPS, Inc., will focus on licensing Wave Computing's MIPS architecture and AI technology.

Website: https://www.wavecomp.ai/ (Note: The website appears to be inactive as of December 2022)

Note: This list is not exhaustive and only covers some of the major companies in the global AI and Neuromorphic processor market, and may contain outdated information, errors, or omissions. Strict Terms of Use apply.