Axelera AI and Andes Technology announced a strategic partnership. Axelera AI has integrated the AndesCore AX65 Out-of-Order RISC-V processor into its Europa AI Processing Unit (AIPU).
The Europa AIPU combines Axelera’s Digital In-Memory Compute (D-IMC) technology with the AX65 core to support computer vision and generative AI at the edge, including Large Language Models (LLMs) and high-resolution vision transformers. The platform delivers 629 TOPS of peak performance with integrated pre- and post-processing. It targets edge servers, robotics, autonomous systems, and local execution of complex models without datacenter infrastructure.
The AndesCore AX65 functions as the primary control processor. It features a 13-stage, 4-wide out-of-order execution pipeline for parallel handling of complex pre- and post-processing tasks such as frame management and result formatting. The core is compliant with the RVA22 profile, enabling full Linux distributions, and supports improved power efficiency.
The integration allows the D-IMC cores to handle 99% of neural network inference while the AX65 manages control flow with lower latency compared to in-order cores.
“The integration of the Andes AX65 into our Europa architecture marks a significant milestone in our mission to democratize AI,” said Giuseppe Garcea, Director of Silicon & Co-founder of Axelera AI. “By pairing our disruptive D-IMC technology with Andes’ world-class RISC-V expertise, we are providing our customers with a platform that is not only incredibly fast but also highly flexible and easy to program.”
“We are thrilled to see our high-performance AX65 core at the heart of Axelera AI’s groundbreaking Europa processor,” said Dr. Charlie Su, President and CTO of Andes Technology. “The AX65 was designed to meet the rigorous demands of infrastructure and high-end AI SoCs. This partnership demonstrates how the RISC-V ecosystem is now capable of competing at the highest levels of performance, enabling a new era of edge intelligence.”
The Europa AIPU featuring the AndesCore AX65 is currently sampling to lead customers.
