By At Embedded World in Germany, Qualcomm announced plans to acquire Edge Impulse, a move set to bolster its edge AI strategy and further support developers building intelligent Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
This acquisition is aligned with Qualcomm’s broader efforts to expand its presence in the IoT space, where it already delivers a suite of integrated offerings—from chipsets to cloud services. By adding Edge Impulse’s AI platform to its portfolio, Qualcomm aims to accelerate innovation across multiple industries, including logistics, energy, security, and retail.
Edge Impulse is best known for its low-code, end-to-end platform that enables developers to train and deploy AI models directly on edge devices. Supporting over 170,000 users, the platform offers capabilities for data collection, model training, deployment, and performance monitoring—all designed to work with a wide range of microcontrollers and edge processors.
Nakul Duggal, who leads Qualcomm’s Automotive, Industrial, Embedded IoT, and Cloud business, emphasized how this acquisition complements Qualcomm’s strategy. He noted that integrating Edge Impulse would enhance the company’s ability to provide scalable solutions that make AI more accessible to both enterprises and developers.
With the rise of AI-driven IoT systems, there’s growing demand for platforms that can process data on the device itself—without relying on cloud computing. This shift allows for faster decision-making, greater privacy, and reduced network dependency. Edge Impulse’s tools are already supporting applications in predictive maintenance, computer vision, anomaly detection, and more.
Qualcomm intends to integrate Edge Impulse’s capabilities with its Dragonwing processor line, known for on-device AI performance. The combination is expected to deliver major improvements in model efficiency and inference speed while reducing memory usage. This will be further enhanced by the Qualcomm AI Hub, which optimizes models for deployment on its processors.
Currently, Edge Impulse supports several Dragonwing processors, including the QCS6490 and QCS5430, with future compatibility planned for additional platforms targeting embedded and industrial use cases.
Looking ahead, Edge Impulse will continue to operate its platform under the new branding “Edge Impulse, a Qualcomm company,” offering continued support for its developer community and ecosystem partners.
This strategic acquisition reflects Qualcomm’s commitment to advancing the edge AI landscape. By combining its hardware expertise with Edge Impulse’s developer-focused tools, Qualcomm is positioning itself to play a leading role in the next wave of intelligent, connected devices.