Japan backs AI chip startup EdgeCortix in boost to defense tech
EdgeCortix, a Tokyo-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip startup, is riding a wave of interest to foster Japanese semiconductors with defense applications.
EdgeCortix, which has won a contract tied to the U.S. Department of Defense, on Wednesday secured government subsidies of ¥3 billion ($21 million) to develop energy-efficient AI chiplets for commercialization in 2027. The contract may help revenue more than double this year, founder Sakyasingha Dasgupta said.
The products, designed to help robots make real-time decisions and fill the country's labor shortages, target mass production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s plant in Japan. The subsidies are on top of ¥4 billion in support the semiconductor designer won in November to make chips for next-generation communication systems.
The sums from an economy ministry-backed research agency reflect Japan's growing embrace of dual-use technologies. Companies from Mitsubishi Electric to startups such as Terra Labo are ramping up satellite constellation technologies to support ballistic missile tracking under the Defense Ministry's defense buildup program, while the country's Self-Defense Forces are turning to AI providers to enhance surveillance systems.
EdgeCortix, which has raised around $37 million via funding rounds to date, is developing chiplets with programmable architecture that would allow robots to process information without tapping the cloud, according to Dasgupta. That helps save power where hypercustomization is needed, such as in health care, and where data transmission is costly, he said in an interview.
"Our energy-efficient AI technologies can be used in solutions across domains — from land-based systems to aerial platforms to space,' Dasgupta said. "This helps advance edge AI solutions for national and global security.'
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