Israeli computer chipmaker Hailo Technologies Ltd. is poised to make a splash in the artificial intelligence world after landing a hefty $60 million funding round for its deep learning hardware today.

The Series B round was led by existing investors with participation from ABB Technology Ventures, NEC Corp. and Latitude Ventures, and brings Hailo’s total amount raised to $88 million.

Hailo’s investors are reportedly excited about the company’s main product, which is a customized processor for running deep learning workloads at the edge of the network. The company, which is primarily focused on the automotive sector, says its Hailo-8 Deep Learning chip enables devices to run “sophisticated” deep learning applications at the edge of the network that could previously be hosted only in cloud data centers.

Hailo said its processor, which is smaller than a penny, has been built from the ground up with completely redesigned memory, control and compute architecture components. It also comes with a software development kit for developers to build apps customized for the hardware.

The redesigned architecture reportedly translates into “higher performance, lower power, and minimal latency.” The company said it also enables more privacy and better performance for smart devices operating at the edge, including autonomous vehicles, smart cameras, smartphones, drones and AR/VR platforms.

Hailo’s claims about its chip’s performance are backed by evidence. It cites the preliminary results of a ResNet-50 Benchmark test comparing the Hailo-8TM chip with Nvidia Corp.’s Xavier AGX, which is also designed to power AI workloads. According to those tests, which were carried out last year when the chip was launched, Hailo-8 consumes almost 20 times less power than Nvidia’s rival chip.

Hailo Chairman Zohar Zisapel said in a statement that with the funding, the Hailo-8 chip is poised to become a “game-changer” in industries such as the automotive sector, robotics and smart cities.

“A new age of AI chips means a new age of computing capabilities at the edge, and we are excited to lead this transformation,” Zisapel said.

Hailo said the funds will be used to bolster the ongoing global rollout of its product and to reach new markets and industries worldwide.

Photo: Hailo