STMicroelectronics Launches New Microcontrollers for Edge AI

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – STMicroelectronics, one of Europe's largest computer chip manufacturers, has introduced a new series of microcontrollers, marking its first foray into edge AI and machine learning.

On Tuesday, the French-Italian company announced that the STM32N6 series will be applicable in both consumer and industrial electronics, enabling image and audio processing without relying on larger computers or data centers.

While popular generative AI algorithms like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini operate from massive data centers, edge AI employs similar concepts but with reduced computing power for specific local tasks, such as those in cars, factories, or wearable devices.

This approach eliminates the necessity of transmitting substantial amounts of data to data centers for processing, thereby saving both time and electricity.