Qualcomm Bets Big On AI, Machine Learning Posted on : Aug 19 - 2017

Qualcomm is betting big on the artificial intelligence (AI) world. The chipmaker announced that it’s acquiring Scyfer, a Netherlands-based machine learning startup. Scyfer has been working on AI for companies in industries such as manufacturing, health care and finance.

The company said in a news release, it envisions a world where AI makes devices, machines, automobiles, and things much more intelligent, simplifying and enriching our daily lives. In 2007, Qualcomm started exploring spiking neuron approaches to machine learning for computer vision and motion control applications, and later expanded the scope of the research to look not just at biologically inspired approaches but artificial neural networks — primarily deep learning.

Fast forward to today, Qualcomm Technologies is announcing the acquisition of Scyfer B.V, a company affiliated with University of Amsterdam and focused on cutting-edge machine learning techniques, to add a talented team to its roster. Scyfer has built cutting-edge AI solutions for companies worldwide and in a number of different industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare and finance.

“We started fundamental research a decade ago, and our current products now support many AI use cases from computer vision and natural language processing to malware detection on a variety of devices — such as smartphones and cars — and we are researching broader topics, such as AI for wireless connectivity, power management and photography,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president, technology, Qualcomm Incorporated.

Many companies focus on the execution of AI workloads in the cloud, but Qualcomm Technologies is focused on the implementation of AI on end devices – smartphones, cars, robotics, and the like – to ensure that processing can be done with or without a network or Wi-Fi connection. The benefits of on-device AI include immediate response, enhanced reliability, increased privacy protection, and efficient use of network bandwidth, the company said.

In July, Qualcomm made available the Qualcomm Snapdragon Neural Processing Engine software development kit for developers from multiple industries—mobile, automotive, healthcare, security and imaging—to get the tools they need to deliver on-device neural network-driven user experiences. View More