EINDHOVEN, Netherlands, Feb 11, 2025 – NXP Semiconductors N.V. has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Kinara, Inc. The devices enable a wide range of edge AI applications, including multi-modal generative AI models. The acquisition will be an all-cash transaction valued at $307 million and is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to closing conditions, including regulatory clearances.
Secure, economical, and energy-efficient edge AI processing will be required for the development of intelligent systems in the future. As a result, the market for edge AI processing is expanding. Critical choices may be made locally and independently from the cloud thanks to advanced edge AI, that improves data privacy, speeds up answers, and lowers costs.
Kinara’s NPUs and software enablement deliver energy-efficient AI performance across a range of neural networks, including conventional AI, as well as generative AI, to address the growing AI needs of industrial and automotive markets. The acquisition will enhance and strengthen NXP’s ability to provide scalable AI platforms, from TinyML to generative AI, by bringing discrete NPUs and robust AI software to NXP’s portfolio of processors, connectivity, security, and analog solutions.
As existing partners, Kinara and NXP make it smooth to pair Kinara’s NPUs with NXP’s portfolio of industrial and IoT processors. Together, the companies will create integration of solutions to deliver scalable AI platforms for a variety of industrial and automotive AI inference needs.
Advancing Edge AI Innovation with Kinara Discrete NPUs
Kinara’s discrete NPUs, including the Ara-1 and Ara-2, are among the industry leaders in performance and power efficiency. This makes them the preferred solution for emerging AI applications in vision, voice, gesture, and a variety of other generative AI-powered multi-modal implementations. Both devices feature an architecture that enables mapping of the inference graphs for execution on Kinara’s programmable proprietary neural processing units for maximizing edge AI performance. This programmability ensures adaptability as AI algorithms continue to evolve from CNNs to generative AI and approaches such as agentic AI in the future.
Ara-1 is the first generation discrete NPU, capable of advanced AI inferencing at the edge. Ara-2, capable of up to 40 TOPS (Tera Operations Per Second), the second generation NPU, is optimized for achieving system-level top performance for generative AI. The Ara-1 and Ara-2 NPUs can be integrated with embedded systems to enhance their AI capabilities, including upgrading existing in-field systems.
Kinara also provides a software development kit enabling customers to optimize AI model performance and streamline the deployment. Kinara’s AI software portfolio includes model libraries and model optimization tools, which will be integrated into NXP’s eIQ AI/ML software development environment to enable customers to create end-to-end AI systems saving time.
About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V., established in 2006 as a spin-off from Philips, is headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The company specializes in high-performance mixed-signal and standard product solutions, including microcontrollers, application processors, communication processors, connectivity chipsets, analog and interface devices, RF power amplifiers, security controllers, and sensors. The products serve various industries such as automotive, industrial, Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, and communication infrastructure. In 2023, NXP reported revenues of approximately $13.3 billion. With a global presence in over 30 countries, the company employs around 34,000 individuals. NXP is recognized for its innovations in near-field communication (NFC) technology and its significant contributions to automotive electronics, including microcontrollers and analog chips used in vehicle systems.
Source: NXP Semiconductors
