The next flagship-grade Exynos processor by Samsung may feature a custom neural engine co-processor. Korean publication, The Investor, reports that the Korean tech giant has invested a sizable amount in a Chinese AI company called DeePhi Tech. It is a deep learning solution developer, which was founded by graduates of the Tsinghua University and Stanford University. DeePhi Tech also works together with other companies like MediaTek and Amazon.
The custom neural engine co-processor will likely be used in the Exynos version of Samsung’s Galaxy S9 smartphone. Samsung is already said to be working with Qualcomm on the Snapdragon 845 SoC. Reports also suggest that Samsung may have purchased the entire first batch of the Snapdragon 845 for use in the US-version of the Galaxy S9.
Apple’s new A11 Bionic chipset, which is used in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8, sports a neural processing engine. The company noted that it was meant for certain “specific machine learning algorithms” which include Face ID and Animojis. Apple aims to use machine learning to ensure its new features get better overtime.
Qualcomm also offers a software development kit for its Snapdragon series of mobile chipsets. The Snapdragon Neural Processing Engine SDK allows companies to use TensorFlow and Caffe/Caffe2 frameworks.
Intel recently unveiled a new family of chips aimed at AI processing called the Intel Nervana Neural Processor (NNP). The company has been working with Facebook for the design of the chip design and is expected to start shipping it by the end of this year. Intel aims to target the automotive industry, healthcare and more.