Blaize Delivers Breakthrough for AI Edge Computing

August 13, 2020

New Blaize Pathfinder and Xplorer platforms for more efficient, more flexible, more accurate and more cost-effective real-time AI computing on the edge

News Highlights

Blaize now sampling embedded and accelerator platforms built on the Blaize GSP architecture with up to 60x greater systems efficiency, 10x lower latency, 50x less memory bandwidth, 16TOPS performance at 7W, and 100% programmable.
Blaize software tools offer features for higher accuracy & performance, faster deployment and the industry’s first option for code-free AI development at the edge
Blaize early access customers looking ahead to production deployments of previously infeasible real-time AI edge smart vision use cases across industrial, automobility, smart retail, metro and factory applications.

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Blaize today announced the company’s first AI computing hardware and software products built to overcome today’s unmet requirements for compute and productization of AI applications at the edge. With multiple feature advancements vs. legacy GPU/CPU solutions, the Blaize Pathfinder and Xplorer platforms coupled with the Blaize AI Software Suite enable developers to usher in a new era of more practical and commercially viable edge AI products across a wide range of edge use cases and industries.

“Today’s edge solutions are either too small to compute the load or too costly and too hard to productize,” says Dinakar Munagala, Co-founder and CEO, Blaize. “Blaize AI edge computing products overcome these limitations of power, complexity and cost to unleash the adoption of AI at the edge, facilitating the migration of AI computing out of the data center to the edge.”

Edge AI markets are projected to grow rapidly as demand for AI at the edge transforms entire industries and AI functionality becomes a “must-have” requirement for new products. Omdia Research projects edge chipset revenue to reach $51B in 2025*.

Blaize Leadership Focus on Systems & Energy Efficiency, Low latency, Flexibility

The Blaize embedded and accelerator platforms are built on the Blaize Graph Streaming Processor (GSP) architecture designed for the demands of edge computing. With 16 GSP cores and 16TOPS of AI inference performance within a tiny 7W power envelope, GSP delivers up to 60x better system-level efficiency vs. GPU/CPUs for edge AI applications. In addition, GSP enables 50x less memory bandwidth, and 10x lower latency. This efficiency comes without compromising flexibility – Blaize GSP is a 100% programmable processor – and features advanced capabilities including multi-threading and streaming.

Blaize Pathfinder P1600 embedded SOM

The P1600 embedded Systems on Module (SOM) brings the programmability and efficiency benefits of the GSP to embedded edge AI applications deployed at the sensor edge, or on the network edge. No host processor is needed for the P1600, just plug it in and go.

Blaize Xplorer Accelerator Platforms

Blaize Xplorer platforms are built to accelerate AI applications at the edge of the enterprise via easy plug-in to the PCIe slot in a host server or appliance. The X1600E is a small form factor accelerator platform for small and power-constrained environments such as convenience stores or industrial sites. This is an accelerator form factor uniquely available from Blaize due to the efficiency of the GSP – and can be easily added to accelerate AI apps in industrial PCs or as a rack of cards in a small 1U server.

The X1600P is a standard PCIe-based accelerator in a half-height, half-width form factor. The X1600P can easily replace a power-hungry desktop GPU in edge servers and provide anywhere from 16-64TOPS of AI inference performance within a very low power envelope.

Blaize AI Software Suite

The Blaize AI software suite is built on open standards with ease of accessibility to liberate product developers from being locked to proprietary development environments. Comprised of the Picasso software development kit (SDK), and AI Studio, a completely code-free visual interface, the software suite offers tools for both traditional developers and non-coder domain experts. In addition, both tools sets utilize Blaize Netdeploy, a Blaize innovation with edge-aware algorithms to get the best accuracy and performance for edge deployments.

Groundbreaking Use Cases with POC Customers

Blaize POC customers are tapping Blaize unique product features making real-time AI use cases at the edge a reality. Example applications include:

Industrial: Running five (5) independent neural networks at 50FPS with less than 100ms aggregate latency monitoring human and robot pose detection & position, product ID & count, and product quality.

Smart City: Three independent neural networks running at 50FPS monitoring human detection, pose, position, auto detection and traffic intersection safety & security.

Sensor Fusion: High resolution FHD video and Lidar/Radar sensor fusion running as a complete graph-native application on Blaize GSP.

Last mile delivery: Sensor fusion of HD cameras at 30FPS & lidar/radar with less than 100ms latency and less than 15W power.

Retail: Four (4) independent neural networks running at 50FPS monitoring human detection, position, mask, and theft for store safety and security, and product detection.

Blaize Pathfinder and Xplorer Pricing & Availability

Customer samples of both product lines are available now with full production expected starting in Q4 2020. The Blaize Xplorer X1600E is available for $299 in volume quantity, the Pathfinder P1600 SOM is available in industrial grade for $399 in volume quantity, and the Blaize Xplorer X1600P is available for $999 in volume quantity.

About Blaize

Blaize leads new-generation computing unleashing the potential of AI to enable leaps in the value technology delivers to improve the way we all work and live. Blaize offers transformative edge computing solutions for AI data collection and processing at the edge of network, with focus on smart vision applications including automobility, retail, security, industrial and metro. Blaize has secured US$87M in equity funding to date from strategic and venture investors DENSO, Daimler, SPARX Group, Magna, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Temasek, GGV Capital, Wavemaker and SGInnovate. With headquarters in El Dorado Hills (CA), Blaize has teams in Campbell (CA), Cary (NC), and subsidiaries in Hyderabad (India), Manila (Philippines), and Leeds and Kings Langley (UK), with 300+ employees worldwide. www.blaize.com

*Omdia Markets Report: Deep Learning Chipsets June 2020

Blaize, the Blaize logo, GSP, and other designated brands included herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blaize, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brand and product names are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.