BRN Discussion Ongoing

[Pom down under]

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The whisper in the office is we will get one more before Xmas

 

[Fullmoonfever]

The whisper in the office is we will get one more before Xmas

 

[Smoothsailing]

The whisper in the office is we will get one more before Xmas

Maaaate I like your thinking , we definitely deserve it.

 

[Tothemoon24]

 

[Tothemoon24]

Brainchip = Space invaders

 

[Schwale]

There is nothing negative about this announcement. It is unalloyed good news.

Our first announced (successful) interaction with FG was the collaboration with ESA to evaluate Akida SoI (Global Foundries?) samples and software, AND the potential for integration into FG's next generation, fault tolerant, rad-hard microprocessors.

"Under this new commercial Akida IP licence agreement, Brainchip is entitled to receive a 10% royalty on the net sale price of Frontgrade's first licensed product in exchange for providing Akida 1.0 IP that included 100 hours of intergration support and 24 months of software maintenance. After 24 months FG has the option to purchase additional software maintenance for $125,000 per year. FG also has the option to obtain an additional Akida 1.0 licence for one more licenced product for a fee of EU$ 150.000 or a royalty of 15% of the net sale price of the second licenced product."

BRN has licensed FG to use its Akida IP ,ie, thay are making a new SoC incorporating the Akida 1 circuit design.

This will, of necessity, also include one or more models as well as an MCU to configure Akida.

The MCU will probably be of FG design. The models may be a combination of an Akida model with additional FG data, or they may be FG data converted to Akida format.

So, as I read it, FG will be produing a MCU product line incorporating Akida 1 (10% royalty), and they have an option to produce a second MCU product line incorporating Akida 1 (15% royalty).

Thank you very much Dio for your clear summary.

 

[Fullmoonfever]

Brainchip = Space invaders


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What I like is they confirmed integration with their RISC-V....now all we need is SiFive to step up with something cause we know RISC-V is possible.

 

[DingoBorat]

Bit wary of the gap down to 25c.......

You just had to mention it, didn ya..

 

[Slade]

Why include this line?

FG also has the option to obtain an additional Akida 1.0 licence for one more licenced product for a fee of EU$ 150.000 or a royalty of 15% of the net sale price of the second licenced product."

If they had no intention to obtain an additional license, this line would not be there. If the likelihood of obtaining the second license was a long way into the future, they would just announce it when the licensing actually happened.

My guess is that the second product is well into development and is expected to be licensed soon. If this was definite, it wouldn't be an option, it would have been announced as 'FG has purchased two licenses'.

So, i'm expecting this option to be executed soon and hope that FG have negotiated this price now so they don't have to pay a much higher price after the 'akidalanche' starts to happen. (akidalanche - akida avalanche)

Now we sit back and see how wrong I can be.

Cheers Chippers.

You raise an interesting point. I think you are right, the additional options given to FG would have most certainly been offered as a sweetner during negotiations and therefore FG surely must be interested in obtaining additional licenses in the future.
So much seems to be happening.
Happy Days.

 

[GStocks123]

I encourage everyone to watch this video of Alf K presenting at HW pioneers, more so from the 25min mark re Frontgrade, the moon landing or even Mars

Also..Good to get reconfirmation that Akida is currently in space

 

[Diogenese]

Still don't know what the OR is in there for.

SC

In case the wind drops ...

 

[TheDrooben]

You just had to mention it, didn ya..

View attachment 74282

At least it closed quick and didn't hang around to haunt us.............

 

[Diogenese]

Some interesting quotes here from Remi El-Ouazzane (STMicro) on the proliferation of AI within the microcontroller market over the next 5 years. He describes it as an AI “tsunami“ coming to edge devices.


“We expect AI compute performance at the tiny edge to grow by a factor of 50 to 100 times in the next five years,” El-Ouazzane said. “The continuum of tiny edge to cloud is the area where the compute growth will be the biggest over the coming years.”


STMicro has roughly a quarter of the microcontroller (MCU) market today, shipping between five and 10 million STM32 MCUs every day. According to El-Ouazzane, over the next five years, 500 million of those MCUs will be running some form of tinyML or AI workloads.

https://www.eetimes.com/stmicro-launches-npu-equipped-microcontroller/

https://www.eetimes.com/remi-el-ouazzane-a-tsunami-of-tinyml-devices-is-coming/

Global Foundries produced a batch of Akida 1500 22nm SoI chips. The 1500 is the Akida IP without the non-BRN ARM Cortex processor.

Maybe therse were tested with ESA/FG (Frontgrade) with a FG MCU.

So now it appears FG have taken a licence for Akida IP incorporated with an FG MCU in a So, and they like it so much they have an option to produce a second product line .

This is the 6 May announcement:

https://feeds.issuerdirect.com/news-release.html?newsid=4537416869883669 20240506

BrainChip and Frontgrade Gaisler to Augment Space-Grade Microprocessors with AI Capabilities​

BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN, OTCQX: BRCHF, ADR: BCHPY), the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based, neuromorphic AI IP, and Frontgrade Gaisler, a leading provider of space-grade system-on-chip solutions, announce their collaboration to explore the integration of BrainChip’s Akida TM neuromorphic processor into Frontgrade Gaisler’s next generation fault-tolerant, radiation-hardened microprocessors. This collaboration represents a significant milestone as it aims to introduce the first space-grade SoC worldwide with incorporated true artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
These next generation microprocessors would include BrainChip’s AI processing capabilities, thereby enabling a considerable step forward in the computing resources available for space-borne systems. In particular, the inclusion of the Akida neuromorphic processor aims to deliver compelling power efficiency and inference performance while maintaining compatibility with existing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs).
“Adding AI capabilities to our next generation microprocessors would set a new standard for modern space-grade computing devices,” said Sandi Habinc, General Manager at Frontgrade Gaisler. “The success of this joint effort could empower organizations to leverage AI technology to enhance mission efficiency, ultimately advancing the frontiers of what is possible in space.”

Now the other odd thing is that the licences are for Akida 1 IP, ie, not Akida 2 ... not even as an option ...

Clearly Akida 2 (with TENNs) comes at a significant premium. There is also the fact that Akida 2 has not been produced in silicon. If you're going into space, you'd probably want to see it working beforehand (see Hubble trouble).

So there's still room for FG to step up to Akida 2 at a later date.

What it does show is that Akida 1 performs at or above specification for FG's (and ESA's) purposes.

 

[CHIPS]

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View attachment 74279

AGAIN and again and again ... Where is the link?

 

[Mazewolf]

Worth mentioning what isn't there too - no NDA! At last for some reason they've found a way to not have agreements kept under an NDA....

 

[MDhere]

Hello fellow brners,
Happy silly season soon,
Been waiting like everyone else but things are slowly being uncovered and it was very nice to see this announcement this morning re Frontgrade Gaisler inc a nice mention in the Herald Sun.
BrainChip Holdings (ASX:BRN) has announced that Frontgrade Gaisler, a provider of radiation-hardened microprocessors for space, has licensed its Akida 1.0 Neuromorphic AI IP for integration into space-grade, fault-tolerant chips. BrainChip will receive royalties from Frontgrade.

I also happy to come across an interesting article on Risc-V with Brainchip mentioned. (this probably has surfaced here on tse before) but given the injection of funds by Jeff Bezos to Tenstorrent in early December, I thought it might be worth a revisit of it especially the part where it says Synergies between Risc-v, Tenstorrent and Brainchip.
The combination of Tenstorrent’s GPU capabilities and BrainChip’s neuromorphic approach demonstrates the broad applicability of RISC-V in both conventional AI workloads and next-generation computational neuroscience



It's good to be a shareholder.
Hope Bravo gets new running shoes for xmas.

 

[Tothemoon24]

AGAIN and again and again ... Where is the link?

Again and again and again , where is the link , l can not think , is it possible there is no link ? Let me think

Sorry boss I’ll endeavour to improve on my missing links

 

[Tothemoon24]

Frontgrade Gaisler Partners with BrainChip to Bring Akida AI Chips to Space - The Manufacture Data

BrainChip, the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based neuromorphic AI, has reached an exciting milestone in its

themanufacturedata.com

Frontgrade Gaisler Partners With BrainChip To Bring Akida AI Chips To Space​

• THE MANUFACTURE DATA
• DECEMBER 16, 2024
• PRESS RELEASES

HOMEPRESS RELEASESFRONTGRADE GAISLER PARTNERS WITH BRAINCHIP TO BRING AKIDA AI CHIPS TO SPACE

BrainChip, the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based neuromorphic AI, has reached an exciting milestone in its mission to revolutionize edge computing. The company recently announced a commercial licensing agreement with Frontgrade Gaisler, a leading provider of radiation-hardened microprocessors specifically designed for space applications. Under this agreement, Frontgrade Gaisler will integrate BrainChip’s Akida™ IP into their next-generation, fault-tolerant system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, enabling advanced hardware AI acceleration for space missions.
This groundbreaking collaboration signifies a major leap forward in the deployment of artificial intelligence in space environments, as it paves the way for AI chips to operate reliably in the harsh conditions of outer space. The Akida neuromorphic computing platform was selected for its unique ability to process real-time data streams with resilience, autonomy, and precision, all while maintaining minimal power consumption and occupying a small physical footprint.

Driving Neuromorphic AI to the Furthest Edge​

The European Space Agency (ESA) has been at the forefront of efforts to bring neuromorphic computing to space, highlighting its transformative potential in applications such as computer vision, navigation, and fault detection. Laurent Hili, Microelectronics and Data Handling Engineer at ESA, explained why neuromorphic computing is poised to revolutionize space technology.
While many fields undoubtedly benefit from neuromorphic computing, one critical application area is computer vision, said Hili. “Current FPGA or GPU technologies often fall short when deployed at the edge in space missions due to their significant power, mass, and volume constraints. Neuromorphic technology, as demonstrated through several ongoing projects with satellite manufacturers and IP/component suppliers like Frontgrade Gaisler and BrainChip, addresses these challenges head-on.”
This sentiment underscores the importance of the Akida platform’s cutting-edge capabilities. Neuromorphic computing mimics the human brain by processing information through event-based, spike-driven architectures, which are inherently more power-efficient than conventional AI systems. Such efficiency is particularly valuable in space missions, where every watt of power, gram of mass, and cubic centimeter of volume is at a premium.

Enhancing Space-Borne Computers​

BrainChip’s Akida neuromorphic technology will significantly enhance the performance of space-based, on-board computers. Its ability to deliver superior power efficiency and inference performance while maintaining compatibility with existing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) makes it a game-changer for space applications. By leveraging the Akida IP, Frontgrade Gaisler aims to deliver AI-enabled space processors that can handle complex tasks such as anomaly detection, image recognition, and data analysis in real time without the need for continuous communication with Earth-based systems.
For the last 20 years, Geisler’s space-grade microprocessors have been successfully deployed to every planet in our solar system through missions led by ESA and other major space agencies, said Sandi Harbin, General Manager at Front grade Geisler, a Front grade company. Our evaluation of Brain Chip’s Aida IP revealed that it perfectly complements our roadmap for future space processors. Licensing this technology is a natural next step in advancing our systems with cutting-edge neuromorphic AI capabilities.
The collaboration between BrainChip and Frontgrade Gaisler demonstrates the growing demand for space-optimized AI solutions. Neuromorphic technology’s ability to process data in a more human-like and efficient manner aligns perfectly with the stringent requirements of space exploration, where autonomy and reliability are non-negotiable.

Realizing a Vision for Space AI​

Sean Hehir, CEO of BrainChip, emphasized the significance of this partnership in advancing the boundaries of AI in space. “This collaboration with Frontgrade Gaisler to license Akida IP for space-based SoCs is a critical milestone in addressing the market demand for AI in space deployments,” said Hehir. “What was once thought unattainable—bringing advanced AI to space—is now becoming a reality, and we are proud to play a pivotal role in this transformation. Our trusted relationship with Frontgrade Gaisler enables us to push the limits of what’s possible in space computing.”
The integration of BrainChip’s Akida IP into Frontgrade Gaisler’s SoCs represents a union of two innovative approaches: BrainChip’s focus on event-based neuromorphic AI and Frontgrade Gaisler’s expertise in developing radiation-hardened, fault-tolerant microprocessors. Together, the companies are set to overcome some of the most challenging obstacles in space technology, such as the harsh radiation environment and the need for ultra-efficient computing solutions.
As space missions become increasingly complex and ambitious, the demand for autonomous, intelligent systems capable of making split-second decisions without relying on Earth-based control is growing rapidly. The Akida platform’s ability to support on-board AI inference while conserving resources makes it a vital component of the next generation of space exploration technologies.
This partnership highlights the importance of collaboration in advancing the frontiers of technology. By combining their strengths, BrainChip and Frontgrade Gaisler are enabling AI to extend its reach far beyond Earth, opening up new possibilities for innovation and discovery in the vast expanse of space.

 

[manny100]

Global Foundries produced a batch of Akida 1500 22nm SoI chips. The 1500 is the Akida IP without the non-BRN ARM Cortex processor.

Maybe therse were tested with ESA/FG (Frontgrade) with a FG MCU.

So now it appears FG have taken a licence for Akida IP incorporated with an FG MCU in a So, and they like it so much they have an option to produce a second product line .

This is the 6 May announcement:

https://feeds.issuerdirect.com/news-release.html?newsid=4537416869883669 20240506

BrainChip and Frontgrade Gaisler to Augment Space-Grade Microprocessors with AI Capabilities​

BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN, OTCQX: BRCHF, ADR: BCHPY), the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low power, fully digital, event-based, neuromorphic AI IP, and Frontgrade Gaisler, a leading provider of space-grade system-on-chip solutions, announce their collaboration to explore the integration of BrainChip’s Akida TM neuromorphic processor into Frontgrade Gaisler’s next generation fault-tolerant, radiation-hardened microprocessors. This collaboration represents a significant milestone as it aims to introduce the first space-grade SoC worldwide with incorporated true artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
These next generation microprocessors would include BrainChip’s AI processing capabilities, thereby enabling a considerable step forward in the computing resources available for space-borne systems. In particular, the inclusion of the Akida neuromorphic processor aims to deliver compelling power efficiency and inference performance while maintaining compatibility with existing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs).
“Adding AI capabilities to our next generation microprocessors would set a new standard for modern space-grade computing devices,” said Sandi Habinc, General Manager at Frontgrade Gaisler. “The success of this joint effort could empower organizations to leverage AI technology to enhance mission efficiency, ultimately advancing the frontiers of what is possible in space.”

Now the other odd thing is that the licences are for Akida 1 IP, ie, not Akida 2 ... not even as an option ...

Clearly Akida 2 (with TENNs) comes at a significant premium. There is also the fact that Akida 2 has not been produced in silicon. If you're going into space, you'd probably want to see it working beforehand (see Hubble trouble).

So there's still room for FG to step up to Akida 2 at a later date.

What it does show is that Akida 1 performs at or above specification for FG's (and ESA's) purposes.

It may be that FG are working on another function that requires Gen 2 and TENNs hence the provision for another licence.
As space craft evolve there will be many different functions that require AKIDA. The size of the royalty indicates the importance of AKIDA to this program.

 

[Earlyrelease]

What I liked about the FG announcement was the word augment.