BrainChip receives Akida export approval from US government
BrainChip can now export its AI technology to high-growth regions such as Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.
Artificial intelligence device company BrainChip (ASX: BRN) has unveiled a new export classification issued from the US Government’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).
The ruling authorises the export of its AI technologies without the company having to apply for additional licences and most importantly, paves the way for BrainChip to target non-restricted customers in Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.
BrainChip obtained a formal classification for EAR99 under the Export Administration Regulations which removes barriers for exporting Akida to non-US countries and to non-restricted customers and use cases.
According to BrainChip, its technology is suitable for numerous edge applications including surveillance, advanced driver assistance systems, vision-guided robotics, drones, internet of things, acoustic analysis and cybersecurity. The Akida chip includes BrainChip’s entire AI edge network and has multiple learning modes.
BrainChip also stated that it continues with Akida product development and is engaging with early access manufacturers to bring a “first-in-kind product” to market. The Akida NSoC enables AI Edge solutions for high-growth, high-volume applications that have been difficult to achieve with existing AI architectures.
A new breed
BrainChip declared that the Akida NSoC is the first in a revolutionary “new breed” of neuromorphic computing devices.
Inspired by the biological function of neurons but engineered on a digital logic process, BrainChip says that spiking neural networks (SNNs) are inherently lower power than traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs).
SNNs replace the math-intensive convolutions and back-propagation training methods of CNNs with neuron functions and feed-forward training methodologies.
BrainChip’s research has determined the optimal neuron model and training methods, bringing unprecedented efficiency and accuracy. The company claims each Akida NSoC has as many as 1.2 million neurons and 10 billion synapses, representing “100 times better efficiency than neuromorphic test chips from Intel and IBM”.
BrainChip said it received its EAR99 designation on Friday last week for the Akida Neuromorphic System-on-Chip (NSoC) and the Akida Development Environment (ADE) which meant the company does not require a pre-approval, or a licence from the US Department of Commerce, before delivering its solutions globally as part of sales and marketing expansion activities.
“This is a major achievement for BrainChip and another distinction over our competition that have not achieved this classification,” said Louis DiNardo, chief executive officer of BrainChip.
“An EAR99 classification from the US government will further fuel our commercial momentum with target customers, particularly across Asia. Market interest in our unique AI technology continues to grow due to the exponential increase of AI uses at the edge.
“Combined with our strong differentiation in ultra-low power consumption and performance over other solutions, we are well-positioned to address the requirements of customers in high-growth markets internationally,” said Mr DiNardo.
In a statement to the market, BrainChip said it continues to prioritise engineering, sales and marketing resources on potential customers for the Akida NSoC and its associated intellectual property.
“The company focuses exclusively on edge applications for both IP and the Akida device. Edge applications include use cases where data is acquired by a variety of transducers and a benefit is derived by processing the information at the transducer, rather than sending all data to an enterprise data center or cloud for processing,” BrainChip said.
The news helped boost BrainChip shares up 20% to $0.066 in early morning trade.