Hardware vendors to win

July 2018 News & Events

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will see a significant shift out of the cloud and on to the edge (a.k.a. on-device, gateway, and on-premise servers). This will happen initially in terms of inference (machine learning) and then by training.

This shift means a huge opportunity for those chipset vendors with power-efficient chipsets and other products that can meet the demand for edge AI computing. Edge AI inference will grow from just 6% in 2017 to 43% in 2023, announced ABI Research.

“The shift to the edge for AI processing will be driven by cheaper edge hardware, mission-critical applications, a lack of reliable and cost-effective connectivity options, and a desire to avoid expensive cloud implementation. Consumer electronics, automotive, and machine vision vendors will play an initial critical role in driving the market for edge AI hardware. Scaling said hardware to a point where it becomes cost effective will enable a greater number of verticals to begin moving processing out of the cloud and on to the edge,” says Jack Vernon, industry analyst at ABI Research.

ABI Research has identified 11 verticals ripe for the adoption of AI, including automotive, mobile devices, wearables, smart home, robotics, small unmanned aerial vehicles, smart manufacturing, smart retail, smart video, smart building, and oil and gas sectors and split across a further 58 use cases. By 2023 the market will witness 1.2 billion shipments of devices capable of on-device AI inference – up from 79 million in 2017.

Cloud providers will still play a pivotal role, particularly when it comes to AI training. Out of the 3 billion AI device shipments that will take place in 2023, over 2.2 billion will rely on cloud service providers for AI training – this is still a real-term decline in the cloud providers market share for AI training, which currently stands around 99%, but will fall to 76% by 2023. Hardware providers should not be too concerned about this shift away from the cloud, as AI training is likely to be supported by the same hardware, only at the edge, either from on-premise servers or gateway systems.

The power-efficient chipset is the main driver of edge AI. Mobile vendor Huawei is already introducing on-device AI training for battery power management in its P20 pro handset, in partnership with Cambricon Technologies. Chip vendors NVIDIA, Intel, and Qualcomm are also making a push to deliver the hardware that will enable automotive OEMs to experiment with on-device AI training to support their efforts in autonomous driving. Training at the edge on-device is beginning to gain momentum in terms of R&D, but it could still take some time for it to be a realist approach in most segments.

“The massive growth in devices using AI is positive for all players in the ecosystem concerned, but critically those players enabling AI at the edge are going to see an increase in demand that the industry to date has overlooked. Vendors can no longer go on ignoring the potential of AI at the edge. As the market momentum continues to swing toward ultra-low latency and more robust analytics, end users must start to incorporate edge AI in their roadmap. They need to start thinking about new business models like end-to-end integration or chipset as a service,” Vernon concludes.

For more information, go to www.abiresearch.com





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Highest increase in global cyberattacks in two years
Information Security News & Events
Check Point Global Research released new data on Q2 2024 cyber-attack trends, noting a 30% global increase in Q2 2024, with Africa experiencing the highest average weekly per organisation.

Read more...
The power of PKI and private sector innovation
Access Control & Identity Management News & Events Government and Parastatal (Industry)
At the recent ID4Africa 2025 Summit in Addis Ababa, the spotlight was firmly on building secure, inclusive, and scalable digital identity ecosystems for the African continent.

Read more...
Bosch Security renamed Keenfinity
News & Events
Globally renowned brands for video systems, access control and intrusion alarm systems, as well as communication systems, unite under the roof of the new company Keenfinity Group.

Read more...
2025 video surveillance market set for improved fortunes
News & Events Surveillance
Novaira Insights has unveiled its latest report, World Market for Video Surveillance Hardware and Software – 2025 Edition, forecasting a healthy growth rate of 8,1% until 2029, excluding China.

Read more...
Wialon announces integration with fleet maintenance and optimisation platform
News & Events Transport (Industry) Logistics (Industry)
Fleet management software platform integrates with a fleet maintenance and optimisation platform to support mutual customers for better workflows and deeper insights into fleet operations.

Read more...
DeepSneak deception
Information Security News & Events
Kaspersky Global Research & Analysis researchers have discovered a new malicious campaign which is distributing a Trojan through a fake DeepSeek-R1 Large Language Model (LLM) app for PCs.

Read more...
Almost 50% of companies choose to pay the ransom
News & Events Information Security
This year’s Sophos State of Ransomware 2025 report found that nearly 50% of companies paid the ransom to get their data back, the second-highest rate of ransom payment for ransom demands in six years.

Read more...
Value and industry insight
Securex South Africa Training & Education News & Events
Securex South Africa 2025, co-located with A-OSH EXPO, Facilities Management Expo, and Firexpo, drew thousands of security professionals from across the continent and beyond, offering a platform for networking, product discovery, and knowledge sharing.

Read more...
Gallagher Security achieves ISO 27001 recertification
News & Events Training & Education
Gallagher Security has successfully achieved certification to the updated ISO/IEC 27001:2022 standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). This accomplishment builds on previous certifications and reflects a continued commitment to the highest standards of information security.

Read more...
Survey highlights cost of cyberdamage to industrial companies
Kaspersky Information Security News & Events
The majority of industrial organisations estimate their financial losses caused by cyberattacks to be over $1 million, while almost one in four report losses exceeding $5 million, and for some, it surpasses $10 million.

Read more...










While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd. | All Rights Reserved.