Alibaba-backed Kneron bags $40m in round led by Horizons Ventures

US-based AI company Kneron has raised an additional US$40 million in funding, bumping up its series A raise to a total of US$73 million. The round was led by Horizons Ventures, the VC firm of Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-Shing.

The startup previously raised US$33 million in funding from investors including Horizon, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, CDIB, Himax Technologies, Qualcomm, Thundersoft, and Sequoia Capital, according to a statement.

Kneron founder and CEO Albert Liu / Photo credit: Kneron

Established in San Diego in 2015, Kneron provides end-to-end integrated hardware and software solutions that enable on-device edge AI inferencing in mobile devices and personal computers. It can also be used in internet-of-things devices such as smart home tech, surveillance, payments, and smart cars.

Edge AI means that algorithms are processed locally on a specific device. A machine using the technology does not need to be connected to process data and make decisions. While the on-device edge AI industry is still emerging, Kneron said its early investment in the technology has placed it in a position where it can enable AI adoption in mass-market devices.

It also believes that its focus on edge AI solutions that are market-ready is key for investors. Some of its products include the KL520 AI chip, which accelerates neural network models on mass-market devices, and its neural processing units, which provide high-efficiency solutions to low-power machines.

Because of its reconfigurable technology, Kneron said that it will be able to realize its vision of allowing edge AI devices to communicate with each other, generating collective actions that can be independent of centralized cloud-based AI services.

In addition to the US, Kneron also operates in China and Taiwan.