Chinese AI chipmaker Hygon plots expansion from data centres to robotics

Chinese chipmaker Hygon Information Technology is set to release a new chip targeting physical-world applications including robotics, expanding from its current focus on data centres, according to Chinese media reports and company information.

The product launch, slated for Tuesday, marks Hygon’s move into a new chip category powering machines that interact directly with their environments, as physical artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important.

The new chip, an iteration of the company’s CPU1000 series, is designed to meet “low-power, embedded and edge computing requirements”, targeting a range of physical AI applications in sectors including robotics, machine vision and intelligent manufacturing, according to reports by business news outlet Jiemian News and state-backed newspaper China Securities Journal on Sunday.

The company touted the launch event, which will be held in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, with the slogan, “Let computing power reach the physical world”, according to a post on the company’s official WeChat account on Sunday, which did not disclose more information.