Hot on the heels of launching the Dragonwing suite of products to represent its industrial and embedded internet of things (IoT), networking and cellular infrastructure solutions, Qualcomm Technologies is to acquire Edge Impulse to enhance its offering for developers and expand its leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to power AI-enabled products and services across the IoT.
Founded in 2019 by Zach Shelby and Jan Jongboom, Edge Impulse has a stated mission to enable developers to create the next generation of intelligent devices based on the premise that machine learning can have a significant positive impact on society and industry.
In addition, the company believes it is ushering in the future of embedded machine learning by empowering developers to create and optimise solutions with real-world data. It says it is making the process of building, deploying and scaling embedded machine learning applications easier and faster than ever, unlocking “massive” value across every industry, with millions of developers making billions of devices smarter.
The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, but Qualcomm Technologies anticipates that, once finalised, it will complement its strategic approach to IoT transformation, which includes a chipset roadmap, unified software architecture, a suite of services, developer resources, ecosystem partners, comprehensive solutions and IoT blueprints, to address industry needs and challenges.
Explaining the rationale for the deal, Qualcomm noted that widespread adoption of AI in IoT solutions is driven by the ability to augment or automate workflows through rapid data collection, AI-enabled analysis and enhanced decision-making, allowing enterprises to benefit from improved operational flexibility and efficiency. Qualcomm believes it is well poised to capitalise on this trend through its market position in enabling industrial transformation with IoT and edge AI technology.
“We are thrilled about the opportunity to significantly enhance our IoT offerings with Edge Impulse’s advanced AI-powered end-to-end platform that will complement our strategic approach to IoT transformation,” said Nakul Duggal, group general manager for automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and cloud computing at Qualcomm Technologies.
“We anticipate that this acquisition will strengthen our leadership in AI and developer enablement, enhancing our ability to provide comprehensive technology for critical sectors such as retail, security, energy and utilities, supply chain management and asset management. IoT opens the door for myriad opportunities, and success is about building real-world solutions, enabling developers and enterprises with AI capabilities to extract intelligence from data, and providing them with the tools to build the applications and services that will power the digital transformation of industries,” added Duggal.
Since 2024, Qualcomm Technologies has adapted its strategy to meet the requirements of various IoT segments, providing integrated solutions that combine services, software and hardware, designed to scale across multiple verticals, including consumer, security, healthcare, retail, energy and enterprise.
Components of Qualcomm Technologies’ IoT approach include: application processors and connectivity chips tailored to meet the diverse requirements of industry sectors and devices; software designed for consistency and efficiency across platforms to reduce development and maintenance costs, and enhance security; cloud services and software-as-a-service capabilities to facilitate commercialisation and expand the capabilities of industrial and embedded applications; and hardware and software development kits to support IoT developers and ecosystem partners.
