Cambricon Technologies, co-founded by brothers Chen Yunqi and Chen Tianshi from the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently announced the successful completion of a $100 million Series A funding round. The round was led by SDIC Ventures, with participation from Alibaba Venture Capital, Legend Capital, Guoke Investment, Zhongke Turing, Yuanhe Origin (led the Angel Round), and Yongzheng Investment. China is making strides in developing artificial intelligence chips to close the gap with global tech giants.
Named after the geological "Cambrian" period, around 600 million years ago, when a massive diversification of life forms occurred, the world's first AI processor, developed by the Chen brothers' team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is called "Cambrian." This signifies the imminent explosion of artificial intelligence across various sectors. This round of financing has valued Cambrian Technologies at $1 billion.
According to the information on the Cambrian website, the company’s 1A chip, released last year, is the world’s first commercial "neural learning" processor designed for smartphones, surveillance systems, drones, wearable devices, and intelligent vehicles. When running popular AI algorithms, the chip outperforms traditional processors in terms of both performance and energy efficiency.
Chen Tianshi, CEO of Cambrian Technologies, highlighted that despite numerous deep learning applications, most rely on conventional general-purpose processors like CPUs or GPUs. For instance, Google once used tens of thousands of CPUs to train a cat face recognition model. As neural networks grow more complex, reaching human-brain-scale capabilities, neither CPUs nor GPUs will suffice. Historical experience shows that the intelligent era requires specialized AI processor chips. Chen emphasized that the Cambrian processor is at least 100 times better than traditional processors in tasks like image and speech recognition, with higher integration levels, enabling AI capabilities in mobile devices.
Chen Yunqi, co-founder of Cambrian and a researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that the Cambrian 1A chip addresses two critical issues: first, it significantly boosts the computational power of AI systems, surpassing traditional CPUs and GPUs by two orders of magnitude; second, it facilitates offline intelligence for terminal devices, ensuring data security by reducing reliance on uploading user data to the cloud.
Currently, the Cambrian series offers terminal processor IPs like 1A and 1H. With the Series A funding, Cambrian plans to accelerate the commercialization of its processors in both terminal and cloud markets, promoting the智能化 of various devices while offering powerful yet low-power cloud-based AI solutions.
Commercialization efforts focus on two fronts: terminals and clouds. Terminal products include smartphones, smart glasses, and wearables, requiring chips capable of recognizing images, videos, and text. Cloud customers like iFlytek and Sugon are already using Cambrian solutions.
Despite the excitement surrounding Chinese AI chip leadership, opinions vary. A researcher from the University of Science and Technology of China noted that the Cambrian project benefits from a high starting point thanks to the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which previously developed China's first general-purpose CPU, "Loongson One." Shengling Hai from Gartner added that given China’s strategic focus on AI, demand for AI chips in security, defense, and video algorithms is assured. However, a representative from NVIDIA pointed out that Cambrian's ASICs are purpose-built, unlike NVIDIA's more flexible GPUs, which are adaptable to diverse algorithms and technological advancements.
Chen Yunqi emphasized that every era has its defining technological material—steam engines in the Industrial Age, general-purpose CPUs in the Information Age, and soon, a unique core carrier in the Intelligent Age. Consulting firm Tractica predicts that by 2025, the market for AI-related deep learning chips will grow from $500 million last year to $12.2 billion, with an annual compound growth rate exceeding 40%.
This breakthrough marks a significant step forward for China in the global AI chip race, highlighting both potential and challenges ahead.
Photovoltaic(PV)noise barriers,also known as"noise barriers with integrated solar panels"or"solar noise barrier,"combine noise reduction infrastructure with renewable energy generation. These systems are increasingly being deployed along highways,railways,and urban areas to mitigate noise pollution while generating clean electricity.
How Photovoltaic Noise Barriers Work
1. Dual Functionality
-Noise Reduction:Acts as a traditional noise barrier,blocking or reflecting sound waves from traffic or industrial sources.
-Solar Power Generation:Solar panels integrated into the barrier convert sunlight into electricity,which can be fed into the grid or used locally.
2. Design Configurations
-Transparent PV Panels:Used where visibility is important(e.g. ,along highways). -Opaque PV Panels:More efficient but block the view.
-Bifacial Solar Panels:Capture sunlight from both sides,increasing efficiency.
-Vertical or Tilted Mounting:Optimized for space constraints and sunlight exposure.
Advantages of Photovoltaic noise barrier
✅Space Efficiency:Uses existing noise barrier infrastructure,avoiding additional land use.
✅Renewable Energy Generation:Contributes to local or grid-based solar power.
✅Noise Pollution Control:Maintains primary function of reducing traffic/industrial noise.
✅Aesthetic&Functional Integration:Can be designed to blend with urban or natural landscapes.
✅Government Incentives:Some regions offer subsidies for solar-integrated infrastructure.
Challenges&Considerations
âš Lower Efficiency:Vertical mounting may reduce solar output compared to optimally tilted panels.
âš Shading&Orientation:Barriers along north-south roads may have uneven sunlight exposure.
âš Maintenance:Cleaning panels on highways/railways can be logistically challenging.
âš Higher Initial Cost:Integration of PV adds to upfront costs,though long-term savings offset this.
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Hebei Shuobiao New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. , https://www.pvbracketsystem.com