TAI Signs SoW with Malaysia's Oppstar and Silicon X for Mass Production Development of Edge AI Semiconductor Chips

Tokyo Artisan Intelligence Corporation (Headquarters: Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture; President, CEO & CTO: Hiroki Nakahara; hereinafter: TAI or the Company) has signed a Statement of Work (SoW) with Oppstar (hereinafter: Oppstar), a semiconductor chip design company headquartered in Malaysia, and Silicon X (hereinafter: Silicon X), regarding the development of reconfigurable AI semiconductor chips* for edge AI systems.

Through this agreement, the three companies will transition to a full-scale design and implementation phase with mass production in mind, accelerating the realization of next-generation edge AI platforms.

*Reconfigurable AI semiconductor chip: A semiconductor chip based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array, an LSI that can be rewritten on-site) whose internal circuit configuration can be freely changed according to AI applications.

◾️Background and Purpose of SoW Conclusion

In recent years, the demand for "edge AI," which integrates AI into all kinds of devices, has been rapidly increasing. However, conventional semiconductor chips faced a major challenge in simultaneously achieving "reduced power consumption" and "flexible rewriting according to application."

To quickly put its unique AI hardware technology into practical use to address these challenges, TAI has begun collaborating with Oppstar, which possesses advanced design capabilities, and Silicon X, which has extensive experience in silicon IP adoption.

About the Three-Company Collaboration System

In this development, each company will play the following roles:

・TAI: Provision of unique AI hardware technology, design of final products, and sales.

・Oppstar: Chip-wide design, physical implementation, and verification based on advanced expertise.

・Silicon X: Provision of silicon-proven reconfigurable IP cores and development of software development environment.

◾️Product Overview

This product is an AI semiconductor chip that integrates reconfigurable technology with hardware flexibility and TAI's advanced AI processing technology. By establishing a development environment from both hardware and software aspects, it provides an ecosystem that can be put into practical use immediately after introduction.

This product is expected to be utilized in a wide range of fields such as industrial equipment, sensing, image processing, robotics, and embedded control.

◾️Future Outlook

Currently, the project is in the full-scale development (design and implementation) phase, with mass production in mind. Going forward, engineering samples are scheduled to be launched and evaluated by 2027. Mass production chip manufacturing will be initiated from late 2027 to early 2028, with the goal of shipping mass production chips and expanding business operations in earnest from 2028 onwards.

Through this collaboration, TAI will lead the social implementation of edge AI and contribute to solving social issues such as labor shortages.

◾️Representative Comments

Tokyo Artisan Intelligence

We will bring together Oppstar's silicon implementation capabilities, Silicon X's silicon IP foundation, and our unique AI hardware technology to quickly and with high quality launch edge AI semiconductor chips, for which market needs have begun to emerge, and steadily connect them to mass production and business growth.

Oppstar

Oppstar, as a premier design house with exceptional IC design expertise, is proud to support TAI in developing its next-generation AI chip solutions. We will deploy our world-class engineering capabilities to bring innovation to the rapidly growing edge AI market through this partnership.

Silicon X

Silicon X provides the adaptability required for next-generation hardware through its reconfigurable AI chip architecture, high-performance IP cores, and flexible software stack. Through our partnership with TAI and Oppstar, we aim to realize a platform optimized for the evolving edge AI. We will strongly support development from efficiency in hardware to agility in software, and from development to global mass production.

◾️Company Information

About Oppstar

Provides comprehensive semiconductor engineering services from front-end to back-end. Specializes in the design and development of complex SoCs and ASICs using advanced process nodes, deploying end-to-end full turnkey solutions. Provides advanced technical support to high-growth industries in the global market, including AI, communications, automotive, and industrial automation.

・Company HP: https://www.oppstar.com.my/

About Silicon X

Currently provides proprietary FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array, whose design information can be freely rewritten after manufacturing) chip IP for automotive, artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, healthcare, industrial automation, and more.

・Company HP: https://www.siliconx.com.my/

Tokyo Artisan Intelligence Company Profile

・Company Name: Tokyo Artisan Intelligence Corporation

・President & CEO: Hiroki Nakahara (CEO・CTO)

・Established: March 3, 2020

・Location: Shin-Yokohama Square Building 14F, 2-3-12 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa

・Business Activities: Research and development of deep learning algorithms, development and sales of edge AI products, training of AI experts and engineers

・Company HP: https://tokyo-ai.tech/