Andes Technology Announces the New Product Line, AndesAIRE™, Ultimately Efficient AI/ML Solutions for Edge and End-Point Inference

HSINCHU, TAIWAN – May 15, 2023 – Andes Technology (TWSE:6533), a leading supplier of high-efficiency, low-power 32/64-bit RISC-V processor cores and Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, today announced the launch of new product line, AndesAIRE™ or Andes AI Runs Everywhere, ultimately efficient solutions designed for edge and end-point inference, including the first generation of AI/ML hardware accelerator intellectual property (IP), the AndesAIRE™ AnDLA™ I350 (Andes Deep Learning Accelerator), and the neural network software tools and runtimes, the AndesAIRE™ NN SDK.

With the explosive growth of AI/ML applications, there is a critical need for high performance-efficient deep learning solutions that can operate at the edge and end-point, where the strict power and energy constraints make it difficult to only rely on CPU architecture. The AnDLA™ I350 is specifically designed to address this challenge by delivering industry-leading efficiency, low power, and small area, making it ideal for use in a wide range of edge inference applications, from smart IoT devices and smart cameras to smart home appliances and robotics.

The AndesAIRE™ AnDLA™ I350 is built on top of Andes strength on compute acceleration from the proven CPU technologies and experiences accumulated over the past 18 years, providing a high performance-efficient platform for AI/ML acceleration. It supports popular deep learning frameworks, such as TensorFlow Lite, PyTorch, and ONNX, and performs versatile neural network operations such as convolution, fully-connect, element-wise, activation, pooling, channel padding, upsample, concatenation, etc., in the int8 data type. It also features an internal Direct Memory Access (DMA) and local memory, utilizing the best computing power of the hardware engines. Operation fusion techniques are also adopted in the AnDLA™ I350 to perform most common operator sequences more efficiently. The key configurable parameters of AnDLA™ I350 include the MAC number from 32 to 4096, and SRAM size from 16KB to 4MB, and provide flexible computing power from 64 GOPS to 8 TOPS (at 1 GHz) for a wide range of applications.

The AndesAIRE™ NN SDK is a comprehensive set of software tools and runtimes for end-to-end development and deployment. It includes the following components: 

  • AndesAIRE™ NNPilot™: a neural network optimization tool suite
  •  AndesAIRE™ TFLM for AnDLA™: an AnDLA™-optimized inference framework running on a host based on TensorFlow Lite for Microcontrollers
  •  AnDLA™ driver and runtime

The NNPilot™ can automatically analyze input NN models, apply model pruning and quantization, and generate AnDLA™ executable based on its configuration to perform inference together with the TFLM framework. The NNPilot™ also generates sample host C code to invoke the AnDLA™ driver in the bare metal environment.

To address the evolving and rapidly advancing AI technologies, Andes’ vision is an extensible AI subsystem, which seamlessly integrates AndesAIRE™ AnDLA™, AndesCore™ RISC-V CPU, and Andes Custom Extension™ (ACE). In such a subsystem, most structural and time-consuming parts of the AI workloads can be computed efficiently in the AnDLA™ while less structural computations such as non-linear functions can be offloaded to the powerful and flexible RISC-V CPUs with DSP/SIMD or Vector extensions. The ACE plays a key role for efficient data movement between the CPU and the AnDLA™ to reduce significant memory bandwidth and power consumption while increasing hardware utilization. The ACE can facilitate even faster processing by generating customized instructions for domain-specific applications, such as data pre- or post-processing. In addition to the extensibilities from hardware IP’s, Andes commits to continuous advancement of AndesAIRE™ NN SDK and AndesAIRE™ NN Library for the mass-production SoCs to adopt the future AI algorithms. Andes had added more than one hundred compute library APIs yearly since 2021, and we will keep optimizing and adding new functions into NN SDK and NN library in the future.

“Andes Technology is thrilled to introduce our new product line for AI/ML solutions, the AndesAIRE™ AnDLA™ I350 and the AndesAIRE™ NN SDK, an exceptional performance-efficient hardware and an end-to-end software solution for edge and end-point inference,” said Dr. Charlie Su, CTO and President of Andes Technology. “With the AndesAIRE™, we are empowering developers and innovators to create extensible and future-proof AI/ML SoCs and applications.”

“AndesAIRE™ product line projects our vision for the AI/ML market,” said Simon TC Wang, Senior Technical Marketing Manager of Andes Technology. “By combining the advantages from RISC-V CPUs, the AnDLA™, and the ACE into an AI subsystem, the performance, power consumption, and area can be well-balanced for customers to deliver competitive solutions. Furthermore, the flexibility is guaranteed by RISC-V CPUs and NN software stack, and the extensibility is affluent for customers to differentiate their unique value for target AI/ML applications.”

The AndesAIRE™ AnDLA™ I350 and the AndesAIRE™ NN SDK are available for licensing now in an early-adopter program. For more information, please visit the Andes Technology website at “http://www.andestech.com/en/products-solutions/andesaire-ai/.”

About ANDES RISC-V CON
ANDES RISC- V CON is the annual RISC-V technology forum of Andes Technology. In 2023, the San Jose session will be held in Doubletree by Hilton Hotel on June 27. The 2023 theme is “RISC-V: Redefining AI’s Future in Automotive, Data Center, Communications, and IoT”. It will introduce the flexible RISC-V that changes the face of emerging computing and share how Andes assists the RISC-V ecosystem in implementing multiple applications of innovative technology. Three popular application areas will be focused on: AI, automotive electronics, and RISC-V’s new field, Android. Many RISC-V ecosystem partners, including TSMC, are invited to give talks and on-site demonstrations. For free registration, please see the official website of ANDES RISC-V CON: https://www.andestech.com/Andes_RISC-V_CON_2023_US/

About Andes Technology
Eighteen years in business and a Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, Andes is a publicly-listed company (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099) and a leading supplier of high-performance/low-power 32/64-bit embedded processor IP solutions, and the driving force in taking RISC-V mainstream. Andes’ fifth-generation AndeStar™ architecture adopted the RISC-V as the base. Its V5 RISC-V CPU families range from tiny 32-bit cores to advanced 64-bit Out-of-Order processors with DSP, FPU, Vector, Linux, superscalar, and/or multi/many-core capabilities. The annual volume of Andes-Embedded SoCs has exceeded 3 billion in 2021 and continues to rise. By the end of 2022, the cumulative volume of Andes-Embedded™ SoCs has surpassed 12 billion. For more information, please visit https://www.andestech.com. Follow Andes on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Bilibili and YouTube!

Continue ReadingAndes Technology Announces the New Product Line, AndesAIRE™, Ultimately Efficient AI/ML Solutions for Edge and End-Point Inference

Upgrade to Solid Sands’ Latest SuperTest Version Supports Andes to Its Ambitions for Further Growth in the Automotive Sector

Amsterdam and Hsinchu – May 11, 2023 – Andes Technology, a leading supplier of high-performance/low-power 32/64-bit embedded processor IP solutions, has upgraded its version of the SuperTest Compiler Test and Validation Suite developed and supplied by Solid Sands.

Andes is a founding premier member of RISC-V International and the driving force in taking RISC-V mainstream. Solid Sands, the world-leading provider of testing and qualification technology for compilers and libraries, joined the RISC-V community as a Strategic Member at the end of 2022 and provided Andes with SuperTest Vermeer Update #3 to enable the company to realise its ambitious growth plans in the automotive industry.

Because C++ is capable of satisfying the security, functional safety and behavioural requirements of ISO 26262, it is increasingly used in the automotive sector. A substantial number of image processing, signal processing, and machine learning algorithms used in a vehicle’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) are now written in C++. Underlining the strong commitment by Andes to RISC-V technology, the latest SuperTest Vermeer version was considered to be a perfect fit when operating in such a safety-critical industry.

Andes is dedicated to delivering top-notch solutions in both AndesCore™ RISC-V IPs and software development tools. In 2022, Andes made a ground-breaking announcement by unveiling the industry’s first fully compliant with ISO 26262 functional safety standards RISC-V CPU IP, AndesCore™ N25F-SE. In the second half of 2023, Andes plans to introduce its highly anticipated AndesCore™ D25F-SE with DSP extension support. Furthermore, Andes continues to optimize compilers, toolchains, and libraries, while expanding its support for DSP/Vector and NN libraries to ensure exceptional performance right out of the box with Andes RISC-V processors. Andes provides sturdy and superior compilers and toolchains by utilizing several open-source and commercial test suites like the SuperTest.

Marcel Beemster, CTO at Solid Sands, says: “Andes has a very strong foothold in the RISC-V environment and is a forerunner in the widespread use of the technology. The company’s commitment to safety-critical development per se and its ambitions in the automotive sector in particular mean that refreshing with the latest SuperTest Vermeer version is the obvious choice.”

“Andes’ cutting-edge software development tools, like AndeSight IDE, optimizing compilers and compute libraries, help accelerate the completion of highly competitive products,” said Warren Chen, Andes Senior Manager of Technical Marketing. “We appreciate the many essential benefits that SuperTest offers and it made perfect sense for us – as we power forward in the highly demanding and exacting automotive sector – to refresh our SuperTest with the latest Vermeer version.”

About Andes Technology
 Eighteen years in business and a Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, Andes is a publicly listed company (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099) and a leading supplier of high-performance/low-power 32/64-bit embedded processor IP solutions, and the driving force in taking RISC-V mainstream. Andes’ fifth-generation AndeStar™ architecture adopted the RISC-V as the base. Its V5 RISC-V CPU families range from tiny 32-bit cores to advanced 64-bit cores Out of Order multi-cores with DSP, FPU, Vector, Linux, superscalar, and/or multicore capabilities. By the end of 2022, the cumulative volume of Andes-Embedded™ SoCs has surpassed 12 billion. For more information, please visit https://www.andestech.com. Follow Andes
on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube! 

Contact:
Andes Technology Corporation
sales@andestech.com

About Solid Sands
 Founded in 2014, Solid Sands is the one-stop shop for C and C++ compiler and library testing, validation and safety services. Solid Sands offers extensive test and validation suites with a unique level of compiler and library test coverage, enabling customers to achieve the software tool quality level demanded by ISO standards. The company’s name combines sand – the world’s most abundant source of silicon – with the solidity and security expected of sector-leading testing and validation technologies. More information on the company’s products and services is available at www.solidsands.nl. You can follow Solid Sands on LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Media Contact:
Solid Sands B.V.
Marianne Damstra
marianne@solidsands.nl

Continue ReadingUpgrade to Solid Sands’ Latest SuperTest Version Supports Andes to Its Ambitions for Further Growth in the Automotive Sector

Andes Technology’s N25F RISC-V Processor Enables Superior Performance and Low Power for Phison’s X1 Enterprise SSD Controller

PHISON

Hsinchu, Taiwan – April 25, 2023 – Andes Technology (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099), a leading supplier of high-efficiency, low-power 32/64-bit RISC-V processor cores and Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, and Phison Electronics Corp. (TPEX: 8299), a global leader in NAND flash controller and storage solutions, today announces that the AndesCore™ N25F Processor has been adopted by Phison’s award-winning PCIe Gen4x4 SSD Controller X1 (PS5020-E20) for the enterprise SSD market. The fast and compact N25F provides good balance between performance, area and power, which has made it widely adopted in SoCs demanding performance-efficient embedded controllers.

The AndesCore™ N25F is a 32-bit CPU IP core based on the AndeStar™ V5 architecture, which extends but is compatible to the RISC-V architecture. With an optimized 5-stage pipeline design, it can deliver the leading per-MHz performance with excellent energy efficiency. The N25F also has comprehensive options for its memory subsystem, including instruction and data caches, local memories with low-latency and predictable accesses, and ECC for L1 memory soft error protection. To support flexible SoC construct, the N25F system bus can be configured as 64-bit AXI, 64-bit AHB, or 32-bit AHB, and there is also a slave port for direct local memory reads/writes. These capabilities ensure both speed and security in memory accesses. In addition, the Andes Custom Extension™ (ACE) framework offers additional flexibility through customized special purpose instructions. With rich features and customized options, the N25F has been very popular in the embedded controller market.

The Phison X1 SSD platform, an U.3 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD, is a product targeting the enterprise SSD market. Its great boost in random read IOPS is a crucial evidence for its suitability in AI training and application servers handling thousands of clients. The X1 platform offers higher speed with lower energy consumption in a cost-effective solution that eliminates performance bottlenecks, significantly improves quality of service (QoS), and delivers the highest levels of data integrity and security for critical business applications. It was also recently awarded the 2023 Taiwan Excellence Award.

“Phison has been working with Andes for almost a decade, from the previous V3 architecture to the RISC-V based V5 architecture. All AndesCore™ processors offer an extensive list of configurable options, and the ACE automation tool is very powerful in creating customized instructions that fits our exact needs.” Vincent Cheng, VP of R&D of Phison said. “We are happy to be working with Andes. Through the processor and technical support provided by Andes, it is believed that the two companies will have more possibilities for cooperation in the future.”

“The AndesCore™ N25F offers efficient performance and flexible configuration, which makes it the perfect choice for performant embedded controllers. Actually, the N25F has been the best-selling RISC-V core.” said Andes CTO and President Dr. Charlie Su. “We are grateful to work with Phison on many projects. Phison is an ideal customer who continues to develop successful products with Andes processors while providing useful feedbacks on our cores and development tools along the way. We have extended our collaboration to the superscalar D45 core and we expect more successful products from Phison based on AndesCore™.”

About Andes Technology
Eighteen years in business and a Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, Andes is a publicly-listed company (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099) and a leading supplier of high-performance/low-power 32/64-bit embedded processor IP solutions, and the driving force in taking RISC-V mainstream. Andes’ fifth-generation AndeStar™ architecture adopted the RISC-V as the base. Its V5 RISC-V CPU families range from tiny 32-bit cores to advanced 64-bit Out-of-Order processors with DSP, FPU, Vector, Linux, superscalar, and/or multi/many-core capabilities. The annual volume of Andes-Embedded SoCs has exceeded 3 billion in 2021 and continues to rise. By the end of 2022, the cumulative volume of Andes-Embedded™ SoCs has surpassed 12 billion. For more information, please visit https://www.andestech.com. Follow Andes on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Bilibili and YouTube! 

About Phison
Phison Electronics Corp. (TPEX:8299) is a global leader in NAND Flash controller IC and storage solutions. We provide a variety of services from controller design, system integration, IP licensing to total turnkey solutions, covering applications across SSD (PCIe/SATA/PATA), eMMC, UFS, SD and USB interfaces, reaching out to consumer, industrial and enterprise markets. As an active member of industry associations, Phison is on the Board of Directors for SDA, ONFI, UFSA and a contributor for JEDEC, PCI-SIG, MIPI, NVMe and IEEE-SA.

Continue ReadingAndes Technology’s N25F RISC-V Processor Enables Superior Performance and Low Power for Phison’s X1 Enterprise SSD Controller

Andes Custom Extension™ (ACE) Supports AndesCore™ 45-Series Processors to Provide Flexible Acceleration

Hsinchu, Taiwan – March 23, 2023 – Andes Technology, a leading supplier of high-performance, low-power, and extensible 32/64-bit RISC-V processor cores and Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, announces that an updated version of the powerful Andes Custom Extension™ (ACE) technology now supports the AndesCore™ 45-series processors – the single-core N45/D45/NX45/A45/AX45 and the multi-core A45MP/AX45MP. In addition, the advanced ACE features ACE-RVV and Andes Streaming Port will work with the AndesCore™ AX45MPV, which is the latest member of the 45-series processors with up to 1024-bit Vector Processing Unit (VPU).

With an in-order, 8-stage, dual-issue superscalar pipeline, the AndesCore™ 45-series processors offer strong processing performance for companies to develop high-performance solutions for a wide range of applications in 5G, automotive, AIoT etc. Similar to the AndesCore™ 25 and 27-series processors, the 45-series processors now work with the Andes Custom Extension™ (ACE) to realize domain-specific architecture designs with custom instructions support.

Through the ACE framework, SoC designers are able to design custom instructions and the corresponding custom logic to extend the AndesCore™ processors. The Andes COPILOT is a set of powerful tools to generate all the necessary components including intrinsic functions, processor RTL module and support for simulator, debugger, and compilation tools to support the custom instructions. The designers write an ACE script to describe the instruction semantics and concise Verilog RTL code to describe the custom logic. These are then fed into the COPILOT to generate all the outputs. 

The new version COPILOT v6 provides designers access to enhanced features of ACE such as ACE pipelining, background processing, and grouping functions. In the pipelined ACE engine, many ACE instructions are processed in different stages simultaneously. One instruction can complete every cycle when there is no dependence on resources and data. In this way, ACE pipelining offers a significant performance increase. Running ACE instructions in the background decouples their execution from the processor pipeline. This permits the processor pipeline to continue to execute younger instructions, including ACE instructions, without waiting for the completion of older ACE instructions. As a result, overall performance is improved, especially when there are long-latency ACE instructions. Grouping functions allows specifying one or multiple instructions as an instruction group, synchronization group, or a status group. ACE instructions in different instruction groups can be executed simultaneously to improve the overall ACE execution performance.

To further enhance the custom instructions design flexibility, the latest COPILOT has special support for SoC with embedded FPGA, where one or more 45-Series cores are hardened to connect via ACE interfaces to the embedded FPGA, which is ready for post-silicon custom extensions. COPILOT can generate clock domain crossing logic for the hardened part of the chip. The embedded FPGA architecture enables the capability of changing custom instructions for any purpose, such as fixing design issues or adding more innovative instructions.

“Introduction of AndesCore 45-series processors is a major milestone of Andes RISC-V processor development. This class of CPU brings best performance, power efficiency and rich features that our users will value,” said Dr. Charlie Su, President and CTO of Andes Technology. “The 45-series processors are great products in their own right and users can now use the latest ACE to bring a higher degree of customization in their designs.”

The new generation of Andes Custom Extension™ for AndesCore™ 45-series single-core N45/D45/NX45/A45/AX45 and multi-core A45MP/AX45MP is available now. To learn more about ACE’s powerful capabilities, please contact Andes Technology for more information.

About Andes Technology
Eighteen years in business and a Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, Andes is a publicly listed company (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099) and a leading supplier of high-performance/low-power 32/64-bit embedded processor IP solutions, and the driving force in taking RISC-V mainstream. Andes’ fifth-generation AndeStar™ architecture adopted the RISC-V as the base. Its V5 RISC-V CPU families range from tiny 32-bit cores to advanced 64-bit cores Out of Order multi-cores with DSP, FPU, Vector, Linux, superscalar, and/or multicore capabilities. By the end of 2022, the cumulative volume of Andes-Embedded™ SoCs has surpassed 12 billion.

For more information, please visit https://www.andestech.com. Follow Andes on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube! 

Contact us
Andes Technology Corporation
sales@andestech.com | +886 3 572 6533

Continue ReadingAndes Custom Extension™ (ACE) Supports AndesCore™ 45-Series Processors to Provide Flexible Acceleration

Andes Technology’s N25F RISC-V Processor Enables Superior Immersive Scenarios for ASPEED Technology’s Powerful Image Stitching SoC AST1230

HSINCHU, TAIWAN – March 07, 2023 – Andes Technology (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099) , a leading supplier of high-efficiency, low-power 32/64-bit RISC-V processor cores and founding premier member of RISC-V International, today announced that its AndesCore™ N25F Processor has been adopted by ASPEED’s latest Cupola360 Spherical Image Processor AST1230. The 5-stage pipelined high-performance N25F can operate at high frequencies and is the key to enable ASPEED to design its Cupola360 in-camera image stitching solution for outstanding 360-degree immersive experiences.

The AndesCore™ N25F is a 32-bit CPU IP core based on the AndeStar™ V5 architecture. With an optimized 5-stage pipeline design, it can deliver leading per-MHz performance with excellent energy efficiency. It supports both single- and double-precision floating point and bit-manipulation instructions. These instructions are conducive to accelerating audio codec and image processing algorithms. The N25F has various optional features as well, such as branch prediction for efficient branch execution, Instruction and Data caches, Local Memories for low-latency and predictable accesses, ECC for L1 memory soft error protection, and Andes Custom Extension™ (ACE) for accelerating custom instructions. The N25F also has convenient features to support SoC and system-level development like vectored interrupts to handle various types of system events, AXI 64-bit or AHB 64/32-bit bus interface, PowerBrake, QuickNap™ and WFI mode for low power and power management, and JTAG debug interface to facilitate software development.

ASPEED’s Cupola360 Spherical Image Processor AST1230 is designed with its innovative hyper-stitching® technology specifically for 360-degree images. It features a powerful image signal processor (ISP), a smart layout processing engine and extraordinary processing power for on-chip real-time image stitching. Moreover, AST1230 is capable of processing up to 8K2K Ultra HD video at 30fps with 48M pixels CMOS sensor inputs. With its image stitching capability, high level programmable audio DSP, exceptional performance and thermal efficiency, AST1230 perfectly meets the growing need for a variety of immersive scenarios, such as manufacturing, public utilities, retail, education and training, etc.

“With the unique feature of real-time image stitching, ASPEED’s Cupola360 Spherical Image Processor AST1230 allows users to access large-scale, optically perfect and ultra-high resolution panoramic views seamlessly and instantly,” said CJ Hsieh, COO of ASPEED. “The N25F enables us to create a next-generation approach for the market of smart 360-degree scenarios, or ImmersiveX as we call it. By creating a live digital twin with 360-degree cameras powered by AST1230, ASPEED’s Cupola360 solution reinvents immersive experiences, making them more interactive and engaging. It’s perfect for immersive applications including virtual factory tour, inspection and audit, shopping, house showing, learning and training, and so many more.”

“The AndesCore™ N25F core offers efficient performance and flexible configuration, which makes it an excellent choice for high-speed control and floating-point processing applications such as video and image processing. We are excited that our compact yet powerful RISC-V core serves as the main processor of ASPEED’s AST1230,” said Andes CTO and President, Dr. Charlie Su. “We fully appreciate working with ASPEED to provide advanced features and superior experience for the ever-growing markets of 360-degree video communication.”

About Andes Technology
Eighteen years in business and a Founding Premier member of RISC-V International, Andes is a publicly-listed company (TWSE: 6533; SIN: US03420C2089; ISIN: US03420C1099) and a leading supplier of high-performance/low-power 32/64-bit embedded processor IP solutions, and the driving force in taking RISC-V mainstream. Andes’ fifth-generation AndeStar™ architecture adopted the RISC-V as the base. Its V5 RISC-V CPU families range from tiny 32-bit cores to advanced 64-bit Out-of-Order processors with DSP, FPU, Vector, Linux, superscalar, and/or multi/many-core capabilities. The annual volume of Andes-Embedded SoCs has exceeded 3 billion in 2021 and continues to rise. By the end of 2022, the cumulative volume of Andes-Embedded™ SoCs has surpassed 12 billion. For more information, please visit https://www.andestech.com. Follow Andes on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube! 

Continue ReadingAndes Technology’s N25F RISC-V Processor Enables Superior Immersive Scenarios for ASPEED Technology’s Powerful Image Stitching SoC AST1230