At the 2024 Taipei International Computer Show, Kneron, an AI chip startup, introduced its latest edge AI offerings: the KNEO 330 server and PCs featuring their new KL830 NPU chip.
Founded in 2015, Kneron specializes in edge computing AI technology. The company has attracted investment from prominent names such as Horizons Ventures, Qualcomm, and Alibaba. Kneron's primary goal is to provide an alternative to the cloud-based AI solutions offered by major tech companies. Their technology enables businesses to build internal servers for specific AI applications, addressing data privacy and security issues. This approach could make AI solutions more appealing to companies wary of relying on external cloud services.
Showcased Products
Kneron highlighted two key products at the event:
KNEO 330 server: This server delivers 48TOPS of AI computing power, supports up to 8 users at once, and is compatible with applications like LLM and Stable Diffusion. According to Kneron, it can offer cloud-like performance for RAG (Generative Adversarial Networks) but at a lower cost, potentially reducing AI expenses for small businesses by 30-40%.
KL830 NPU-equipped PC: While specific details were not disclosed, a demo HP device showcased the chip's capabilities. Kneron is collaborating with leading PC manufacturers to make them the initial customers for this chip.
Additional Features
The KL830 is a neural processing unit (NPU) designed to complement CPUs and GPUs in executing AI tasks. It provides substantial computing power (10eTOPS@8bit) with low energy consumption (2W) and efficiently manages various large language models.
Kneron also revealed a USB AI accelerator stick powered by the KL830. This device could convert any equipment, such as routers, IoT cameras, or even traditional computers, into an edge AI device.
