Malaysia launches MARS1000 - The country's first-ever local edge AI processor

Skychip.png

Image from The Star

Recently, it has been reported that Malaysia has its first processor chip, named MARS1000, which is manufactured by local semiconductor chip design company, SkyeChip Sdn Bhd. So, what should you know about it?

 

Almost as good as the big leagues

For your information, SkyeChip CEO, Fong Swee Kiang, said that the MARS1000 processing chip is built using a 7nm process, not too far from what other companies such as AMD, Intel and NVIDIA use for their own AI processing chips.

Additionally, MARS1000 functions as an edge AI processing chip (Edge AI), which means that any AI inference processes and so on are performed directly on the hardware and are not sent to a cloud server machine for processing.

With this, technically, any company data that may be sent is secure because it will not leave the local network. He further said that this processing chip can be utilised in industries such as unmanned robotics, intelligent video analysis systems, smart cities, industrial segments and even generative AI.

 

But that is not all

Moreover, the launch of the MARS1000 chip comes alongside the announcement of EdgeMind, an edge AI system developed in conjunction with another automation company, Elliance Sdn Bhd. EdgeMind is seen as an AI automation system that can be utilised in the manufacturing and agricultural industries.

Both the MARS1000 processor chip and the EdgeMind system are a collaboration between four companies, namely Skyechip, Elliance, Kaltech and Estek Automation.

Interestingly, SkyeChip alone is the owner of over 90 technology patents over the past five years, while Elliance is responsible for developing EdgeMind without requiring such in-depth programming knowledge.

Previously, Malaysia was known as the global semiconductor chip testing and packaging hub, with 10 per cent of the global supply of processing chips packaged and tested in the country.

With MARS1000, the country might take a new step into the semiconductor chip design and manufacturing industry. Hopefully, we can rival countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.


Did this news catch your attention? Stay tuned for more news like this at TechNave!