Are you a fan of artificial intelligence? Do you want to invest in the next big thing? Will you be happy to know that many people are looking for AI chip design companies in China? If your answer is yes, then you should read this blog. Here’s the number one company to invest in.
Be warned: AI chip design might be crazy with plenty of opportunities and risks simultaneously. Don’t figure out by yourself. Always remember that this is a business, not a charity. Don’t start a company without a plan on how to make money from it. Start-ups are very risky, and expecting failure is the most important thing for you to be aware of.
After all, we’re going to be in an era where artificial intelligence will help us out with so many jobs we thought were “meaningless” in the past.
As a result, the AI chip design market is getting pricier daily. Many entrepreneurs are trying to cash in but don’t know how to do it. To make money from this industry, you need more than two years of experience, and many resources like contacts and funds.
The industrial revolution created a great need for goods; and the AI revolution is creating even greater potential for goods. China is currently leading in the field of AI. China has more than 100 companies in AI chip design, with about 10% publicly listed.
An Overview of the AI Chip Design Industry in China
This article will examine Chinese efforts to develop indigenous or independent technologies in AI fields. In particular, we will discuss the competition between Chinese and foreign companies and the impact of a technology war on China’s AI chip development industry. At the same time, we will highlight the opportunities and challenges domestic Chinese companies face in competing with top global players. After all, there are many obstacles to overcome to succeed in this industry.
Chinese efforts to develop indigenous or independent technologies in AI fields
While China is behind many nations in adopting AI, a few key areas still need attention. First, the country needs to reorient its educational system to focus on innovation and digital skills. Second, it must formulate an immigration policy that attracts top talent worldwide. Third, China must promote the adoption of AI within its traditional industries. Chinese firms face challenges like a lack of strategic awareness, technical know-how, and financial resources. The Chinese government should address these barriers by creating tax credits and pioneering AI adoption within the government.
AI applications will transform end-to-end value chains, manufacturing footprints, and supply chains. They will use rapid growth in data volume to reduce the development cycle, improve engineering efficiency, prevent faults, and improve safety. Artificial intelligence can help companies save money by reducing inventory costs, improve supply and demand planning, and identify sales leads. It can help businesses reduce costs while improving productivity. In addition, AI applications can enhance productivity, lower costs, and make manufacturing processes more efficient.
Funding and Adoption of AI
The amount of money that Chinese companies are investing in AI startups is estimated at $1 billion. These investments come from various sources including PE and VC investments and mergers and acquisitions. We base the data from these sources on a sample of AI-related companies in the top 35 high-tech companies. The data focuses on the ratio of AI spend to total revenue of the top 35 high-tech companies.
External investment in AI technologies in China has increased. The number of participants involved in the financing process has also increased, with fewer companies needed to complete the funding. This indicates increased investor confidence and an improved understanding of AI’s potential. The Chinese government should continue to focus on these areas to ensure the success of its AI projects. There are several challenges ahead. However, China will surely overcome these obstacles.
Competition with Nvidia and Intel
Chinese companies have been busy focusing on AI for mobile and social media apps, e-commerce, and eSports gaming. 1n 2017, HiSilicon, a subsidiary of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, launched a chip called the Kirin 970 that combines a traditional CPU with a neural processing unit, or NPU. The chip handles AI workloads and processes 2,000 images per second.
Chinese startups have also entered the GPU race. Beijing has been pushing for greater self-reliance in the semiconductor industry, and the global chip shortage presents a golden opportunity for them to make breakthroughs. Chinese chipmakers are attracting industry veterans from the U.S., including Mike Hong, who helped build Huawei’s GPU research and development team in the U.S. in 2016. The core management team at Biren includes former employees from leading semiconductor companies such as Intel and Nvidia.
With unparalleled access to data, China’s chip design ambitions are geopolitically significant. Creating a chip design industry that can compete with Nvidia and Intel could also boost China’s economic independence and military prowess. The US government has repeatedly expressed concerns about Chinese chip-making but remains hopeful.
While China is moving toward technological self-sufficiency, the country still faces formidable challenges in transitioning from consumer markets to domestic supply chains.
Cambricon
Cambricon Technologies Corp Ltd is a Chinese semiconductor company that designs and manufactures chip products. Its products include intelligent terminal processors, edge computing modules, and cloud and platform-based basic system software. The company also conducts research on artificial intelligence chip products. It has its headquarters in Beijing. Its products are useful in smartphones, servers, and robots. The company has been in business since March 2016.
The Chinese fabless design company Cambricon Technologies has been pioneering the field of AI chips, and is one of the leading companies in the world. The company is a leader in the field and the first to stream its products. The company’s mission is to create core processor chips for intelligent machines. Its products include a mean-length utterance smart chip, processor intellectual property chips, and software development kits.
The company is one of the world’s first companies to design and manufacture smart chips. The company has two main product lines, server and terminal. It introduced its first commercial deep learning processor in 2016, the Cambrian 1A. This processor applies in smart phones, smart devices, and even smart driving. Its performance-to-power ratio is high and exceeds that of GPUs and CPUs. It has also won numerous awards for its innovation, including the prestigious EMIS (Emerging Market Information Services) and CAPS.
Horizon Robotics
Horizon Robotics is a good choice if you’re looking for an AI company focused on deep learning and developing artificial intelligence systems. Its three main products are chips for image recognition, voice recognition, and visual processing. Although based in Beijing, this technology company also has offices in Nanjing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. The company currently employs more than 1,000 people, with more than 70% of that number working in the research and engineering departments. It’s one of the fastest-growing companies in China.
A Chinese startup, Horizon Robotics, has raised $45 million in funding, with the intention of using the funds to commercialize its AI chip technology. The company has recently collaborated with Chinese automotive giants, including Baidu Inc. and SAIC Motor Corp., to develop autonomous driving vehicles. The company’s CEO previously led Baidu’s autonomous driving division. The company’s chip will be essential in cars and other vehicles.
The startup Horizon Robotics, based in Beijing, aims to build a highly efficient technology platform for autonomous vehicles. Its primary focus is building an efficient AI computing architecture, automatic driving technology based on deep learning, and software 2.0 infrastructure. The company is also looking into developing a system that enables car owners to communicate with their automated vehicles. In short, Horizon wants to create an efficient technology platform that will speed up technology development and application iteration.
Partnerships and Funding
One can embed the company’s technology into car software and smart cameras. They are creating artificial intelligence capabilities that can make a car smarter. The company recently completed a major acquisition to acquire a company specializing in AI computing solutions. In addition to its software and hardware, Horizon Robotics is developing software for automated driving systems. The acquisition is an exciting development for both companies, as Horizon Robotics and Continental will work to improve the efficiency of application iteration and technology development.
Another major milestone for Horizon Robotics was completing its Series C funding round. The company raised over $700 million so far. Its latest funding round brought in Baillie Gifford and Yunfeng Fund. In addition to these major investors, Horizon Robotics also received partial funding from the KTB Network, a Korean conglomerate. In this way, the company plans to build an open ecosystem of partners.
Intellifusion
In 2020, the China-based AI chip developer, Intellifusion, completed a RMB1 billion round of pre-IPO financing. Investors in the round included Tsinghua Holdings and Utrust VC. Walden International, Tinghua Holding Capital, and Sino-US VC also participated. Several banks and venture capital organizations have also invested in the company.
The funds will go toward researching and developing AI algorithms, market promotion, and scenario exploration. This is a big win for this startup, which develops machine learning accelerators for the edge of the internet of things (IoT) network. Founded in 2014, the company has grown from its initial focus on visual intelligence to a full-stack Artificial Intelligence tech platform, combining chips, AI algorithms, and big data platforms. The company is already in over 100 regions and cities worldwide.
The company is developing artificial intelligence chips for industrial applications. The AI chips developed by Another Brain can learn and function autonomously without the intervention of human operators. The company markets its products as intelligent robots, drones, and cars. Meanwhile, the chip from ChipIntelli uses DNN architecture, deep learning, and related integrated circuit designs to support IoT applications. The chip is supposed to be inexpensive and highly efficient and will be an important component of future AI products. Intel and Google are investing heavily in this field.
The AI platform and chip development have largely centered on public safety, social governance, and the internet of things. The company also provides toolchains and SDKs for these technologies. Its city-level AI platform, Matrix, supports data access and mining at the city level. Its gigantic multi-modal data fusion has enabled modeling deep data and an optimal policymaking scheme. It can also be useful in building AI-powered digital cities, and it has assisted police in cracking numerous misstatements.
Enflame Technology
The Enflame AI Chip Design Company is a young Chinese chip developer that claims to design and develop processor technology. They also claim to have developed big data analytics software. The company has established R&D centers in Beijing and Shanghai. They focus on building cloud-based deep learning chips that compete with Nvidia GPUs. Their recent acquisition of multiple licenses from Arteris also gives them an edge.
The company is one of only a handful of Chinese startups to target training. Their product is focused on deep learning approaches in cloud data centers and will need to be optimized to operate in such environments. Beijing hopes to dominate the AI industry by 2030. China will have invested over $1.4 trillion in new technologies during that time. Those funds are funding startups like Enflame. As a result, they’ll be in a strong position to continue building on their current success.
Fund portfolio
Chinese technology giant Tencent invested in a startup called Enflame AI Company to create AI training devices. The company had plans to release its first-generation AI training devices in 2020. The startup raised close to $500 million since its establishment in 2017. Founder Zhao Lidong believes that AI is one of the biggest drivers of the digital economy. This technology has a lot of potential to transform the way businesses operate. It is especially valuable in sectors such as medical diagnostics and video games.
Enflame Technology, a startup focused on AI software and services, designs chips that train AI systems. The company has built its proprietary technology to process large data flows and install them in data centers. The startup’s latest funding round doubled its previous investment, bringing its total to $4622 million.
In addition to building AI training chips, Enflame also develops cloud-based deep learning chips for data centers. It’s working with the semiconductor industry in China, which is booming and becoming a key market for AI technology. Despite the startup’s growth potential, there are risks involved. As a result, investors should avoid investing in Enflame AI Company. For now, however, the company’s products are aimed at the financial industry and high-performance training platforms.
NationalChip
Hangzhou NationalChip AI Company, founded in 2001, is a leading supplier of IoT-oriented artificial intelligence chip products. In addition to designing chips, the company also develops system solutions, allowing customers to build their products using its chips. In addition, NationalChip has developed its own proprietary neural network processor architecture, which it uses to design products for IoT applications. The company’s product portfolio includes microprocessors, flash memory, and integrated circuits for artificial intelligence.
Hangzhou NationalChip is an established player in the chip industry, with years of talent and technology accumulation. The company’s competitiveness will likely stem from its AI voice technology and the development of its own AI chips. The company’s relatively modest fundraising needs make it an attractive option for startups looking to enter the AI chip market. With a relatively low-risk profile, Hangzhou NationalChip will likely enjoy great success.
Hangzhou Nationalchip has raised 150 million yuan in its 2019 round of financing, backed by State Development & Investment Corp. The Ministry of Finance is also a major stakeholder in the AI startup. It has also drawn backing from renowned tech firms including Sinovation and Microsoft. It is also worth noting that Alibaba and Baidu are also developing AI chips. These companies have shown patience in the AI chip market.
NationalChip specializes in IC design and system solution development. It also has operations in digital television and family media centers and the artificial intelligence market. The company has successfully developed commercial solutions in these markets, including digital TV receiving terminals. It offers solutions that comply with DVB global standards and Chinese standards. The company has a broad range of diversified technology solutions and can tailor a solution to meet any customer need.
Bitmain Technologies
A Beijing startup, Bitmain is poised to take on companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Google in artificial intelligence. It plays a crucial role in the $70 billion bitcoin economy. The company has 100 unnamed customers. Founded in 2013, Bitmain employs over 600 people. It has outgrown its current headquarters and is currently renovating the building next door. Most employees are young and don’t have any personal interest in bitcoin. They are mainly computer programmers. In the near future, Bitmain hopes to build data centers filled with thousands of AI-powered rigs and rent out the computation power to clients.
Bitmain’s main goal is to dominate the artificial intelligence market. The company sells mining rigs, and its AI technology will help it conquer it. The company plans to develop a chip capable of identifying and removing artificial intelligence-related problems. It is a leading manufacturer of bitcoin mining equipment. It was founded in 2013 by Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan. The company has grown to a multi-billion-dollar operating profit per year.
Kneron
If you’re looking for an AI chip design company that can help you develop your next big idea, Kneron might be a good choice. They use reconfigurable chip architecture and a compiler that optimizes resource allocation. The compiler also uses compression techniques to minimize model size, which allows the chip to run in resource-constrained environments without incurring power or cost. This type of chip design is the future of AI, so you can benefit from Kneron’s technology.
KL530
The company’s next generation Edge AI SoC is powered by the Elan/Avisonic AI image processing algorithm and incorporates Tensilica Vision P6 DSP. This chip offers compute efficiency and flexibility that supports the Intelligent System Design strategy. It also supports a variety of deep learning models such as convolutions and recurrent networks. The chip delivers a performance boost while reducing cost, size and power consumption.
While the Chinese company has already won some big names in the automotive space, it’s still far from having a large revenue stream. The company has forged partnerships with suppliers like Foxconn and Otus, which build chips for cars and other devices. A key part of Kneron’s success has been its algorithm. Analysts at Counterpoint Research say Kneron’s algorithms allow the company to achieve its goals.
The company’s next-generation chip will improve power efficiency and peak performance by four or five times compared to its competitors. The shift from 40nm to 28nm will provide the performance boost and efficiency gains. The KL720 is designed to offload floating-point MAC operations from the CPU and is also capable of custom activation functions. The company’s KL720 chip has the processing power to recognize an entire dictionary and is 1.2W in power.
Founders
The founders of Kneron AI Chip design company have a wealth of experience in designing chips. Albert Liu, PhD, graduated from Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University in 2004. He was awarded Raytheon scholarships to pursue his graduate studies, and went on to receive his PhD from UCLA. During his time in academia, Liu held various R&D and management positions at Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics R&D centre, and MStar. He has lectured on computer vision technology and artificial intelligence at UC Berkeley and other universities, and served as a technical reviewer for a variety of academic journals.
With its unique reconfigurable architecture, Kneron AI chips can run multiple CNNs (convolutional neural networks). They can achieve high MAC efficiency, a key metric for efficient computation. Additionally, their software innovation allows them to dynamically adapt their functions depending on the applications. The chip also boasts a proprietary compression technology, which allows the chip to compress large AI neural networks into a small footprint. Ultimately, these chips can power up to hundreds of gigawatts of processing power, resulting in a remarkably small footprint.
Unisound
Unisound, an AI chip design company headquartered in Beijing, is a promising new company that drew a blueprint for IoT AI chips in 2012. It will provide turn-key solutions for voice assistants, smart homes, vehicle audios, and more. With the help of the UniOne AI platform, Unisound hopes to speed up the integration of AI technologies and break the monopoly held by developed countries.
Today, the Unisound AI Chip Design Company in China has a team of senior experts in chip design, software algorithm, and systems development. Its executives previously worked at Tencent and MIT. Ten months after its establishment, the company attracted top investors. Its plans include developing AI-oriented chips compatible with mainstream deep learning frameworks. The company also intends to release software that facilitates deep learning training, a process suitable for cloud and edge computing.
As one of China’s pioneering AI chip design companies, Unisound is now expanding into a wider variety of sectors. Initially, the company partnered with domestic TV and air conditioner makers to develop voice interaction solutions. The AI chip manufacturer plans to launch more AI chips with various special applications in the future. Meanwhile, the company is strengthening its super computing platform by running AI centers for the Xiamen city government and the Ping An Group. As a result, the company is hoping to win government business.
Canaan
If you are interested in investing in a company specializing in artificial intelligence chip design, you should consider Canaan AI Chip Design Company. The company exports its products to many different countries. It is the second largest designer and manufacturer of its chip varietal. In 2019, the company was planning to raise $400 million in an initial public offering.
Canaan Inc. is one of the leading providers of powerful computing solutions. Recently, it announced partnering with Cathay Tri-Tech. Company. Canaan’s facial recognition component is based on the company’s self-developed Kendryte K210 AI chip. The company has expanded its customer base to include customers from Japan, Germany, South Korea, and United States among other countries. The company also provides its customers development tools, reference circuit designs, and evaluation boards.
AI chip manufacturing is a highly specialized industry. The supply chain is largely global, with high-value components concentrated in a few companies. Photolithography equipment is a primary chokepoint in the China AI chip supply chain. Japanese, Dutch, and U.S. companies dominate deposition and etching equipment and process control equipment.
It is a leading provider of supercomputing solutions
Canaan AI Chip Design Company is renowned for its high-performance computing solutions. The company has started producing 16nm AI chips and recently passed a test to become a national high-tech enterprise. Its new chip K210 edge artificial intelligence is widely useful in smart door locks and access control. With its patented technology and accumulated experience in developing advanced technology, Canaan is a leader in supercomputing solutions.
Canaan has been developing and manufacturing supercomputing chips and digital blockchain computing equipment. While the company sells its products in many countries, most of its revenue comes from China. Its products include Kanzhi Al and Avalon Mining Machine. Founded in 2013, Canaan has focused on AI chip design, chip research, computing equipment production, and software services.
It is a second largest designer and manufacturer of its chip varietal in the world
Based in Silicon Valley’s Bright City, Canaan AI Chip Design Company focuses on blockchain servers and repetition ASIC chips for various applications. Its customers include unnamed startups, system vendors, large automotive incumbents, and Japanese camera OEMs. In addition, the company has clients in network, automation, and machine learning.
Corerain Technologies
If you’ve been looking for a new chip to improve your AI computing systems, you’ve probably heard about Shenzhen Corerain Technologies. The Chinese startup is a key player in the next generation of AI computing platforms and has recently achieved mass production related to its chip. This chip is already working in applications ranging from autonomous driving to smart cities to intelligent manufacturing. In addition to partnering with some of the world’s leading IT companies, Corerain is also pursuing other areas of research to further advance its artificial intelligence chip technology.
In addition to AI chip development, Corerain also provides a complete platform for AI application development. Its AI development platform, called RainBuilder, supports seamless migration of mainstream deep learning algorithms and open-source frameworks. Its AI development platform is flexible enough to support a variety of domains, and its powerful AI development algorithm has won the company recognition as one of the leading AI chip platforms in China. This means that the company is ready to meet the desires of enterprises of all sizes.
The company has over 50 patents, and the list grows every year. Moreover, the company is one of the most innovative companies in artificial intelligence application.
