Kneron raises $25 million to develop smart city technology

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Kneron’s AI chips can be used in autonomous vehicles. | Source: Kneron

Kneron, a provider of full stack edge AI solutions, announced $25 million in funding today, bringing the company to $125 million total in funding. Kneron is looking to advance autonomous driving technology from the inside and outside of the vehicle.

Kneron already develops AI chips that can be used for autonomous vehicles, among other things. In November 2021, it announced it’s newest AI chip, the KL530. This chip is equipped with vision transformer AI models, INT4 data support and an image signal processor.

In February 2021, Kneron began its foray into the self-driving car industry, when it announced it partnered with Weltrand and Elan/Avisonic. Weltrand and Elan/Avisonic developed advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) for use in autonomous vehicles, and now use Kneron’s AI chip.

However, the company isn’t stopping with developing AI solutions. The funding comes from LITEON Technologies, who Kneron has formed a strategic partnership with, as well as Alltak, PalPilot, Sand Hill Angels and Gaingels.

Kneron plans to use the funding to work with LITEON, an optoelectronic maker, to develop smart city technology, which the company says will be necessary for L4 and L5 autonomous vehicles. For example, roadside AI boxes could help direct and control autonomous vehicles.

“The path to L4 and L5 is not just about the vehicle, but the entire technology ecosystem and infrastructure that governs and supports transportation,” Alber Liu, founder and CEO of Kneron, said. “We’re excited to work with our new strategic partners on developing that infrastructure, advancing smart city technology in order to support transportation of the future. Kneron is the only company that enables autonomous driving from within the car and the infrastructure around it.”

“We’re excited to work with Kneron to advance the technology needed to enable autonomous vehicle adoption on a mass scale,” Anson Chiu, president of LITEON, said. “Kneron’s reconfigurable technology & industry-leading performance and efficiency make them the perfect strategic partner as we grow our suite of smart city devices, as well as advancing our smart manufacturing and IoT products.”

Kneron was founded in 2015, and is based in San Diego. In January 2021, the company announced that it had received strategic investments from Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, and Winbond, a producer of semiconductors and integrated circuits.