- EdgeQ — a 5G systems-on-a-chip company — announced that it has raised $51 million in total funding and the company recently launched out of stealth
EdgeQ — a 5G systems-on-a-chip company — announced that it has raised $51 million in total funding and it also recently launched out of stealth. Of the $51 million in funding, $38.5 million was in the form of a Series A round. EdgeQ’s investors included Threshold Ventures (formerly DFJ), Fusion Fund, Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang (AME Cloud Ventures), and an unannounced strategic customer.
EdgeQ is addressing the untapped 5G infrastructure market as the first company to converge 5G connectivity and AI compute onto a system-on-a-chip. And by unifying 5G and AI at the nearest focal point of data at the edge, EdgeQ will allow enterprises (in manufacturing, construction, energy, automotive, warehousing, surveillance, telco, and other verticals) to harness private networking for disruptive applications, intelligent services, and new business models.
The connectivity and compute constructs of today are based on legacy networks that are largely closed and monolithic. And as new sets of devices (robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles, etc.) enter the network, coupling reliable connectivity and AI compute at the edge becomes essential. The traditional and purpose-built fixed hardware can no longer scale efficiently and economically for supporting 5G service-oriented applications.
A new modern approach is necessary to harness fast connectivity and AI compute at both the devices and infrastructure. And EdgeQ will deliver a converged 5G and AI silicon platform that is open and software programmable for both devices and edge infrastructure. By introducing open programmability to the baseband, EdgeQ is providing a new software-driven development model for OEMs and operators that can support existing cellular protocols, such as 4G, 5G, and beyond.
In order to execute this vision, EdgeQ assembled a distinguished team of semiconductor, 5G, Wi-Fi, and AI industry veterans with decades of leadership experience from Qualcomm, Intel, and Broadcom. And collectively, EdgeQ’s leadership team has successfully delivered decades of cellular modem technology that powers much of today’s cellular handset and infrastructure market as well as up-and-coming AI acceleration for data centers.
EdgeQ is developing the world’s first fully software-customizable silicon platform that offers 5G connectivity and AI at the edge in a disruptively simple, accessible, and frictionless manner. And 5G connectivity is comprised of the fundamental backbone that fuels edge intelligence, edge cloud, and associated services.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are rapidly evolving from a smartphone economy to a constellation of intelligent edge devices. This will cause massive disruption to the current paradigm, where existing fixed-function approaches are inadequate to meet the scale, speed, and breadth of new end connections. By building 5G and AI hardware in a newly imaginative, software-friendly manner, we empower and inspire customers with an open and programmable platform that is adaptable, configurable, and economical for 5G-based applications.”
— Vinay Ravuri, CEO and founder of EdgeQ
“The 5G ecosystem is nascent today. The market has a limited set of players delivering 5G solutions designed around smartphones and legacy networks. There is a huge opportunity for innovation and disruption particularly for U.S. companies. EdgeQ is poised to capture that and become the leading U.S. 5G company. With an elite founding team, they have developed a groundbreaking software-defined platform that serves a market set to grow exponentially during the next decade. As the first company to combine compute and 5G connectivity in a single chip, EdgeQ is at the forefront of the critical 5G infrastructure space.”
— Mohammad Islam, Partner, Threshold Ventures
“To deliver on the promise of 5G, the market needs flexible, software-programmable silicon that can be fit-for-purpose. For example, autonomous vehicles and robotics will require both high-quality 5G connectivity and powerful AI computing capabilities. Today, chips are designed for very limited use cases. EdgeQ CEO Vinay Ravuri brings the expertise needed to break this paradigm and deliver true innovation. This technology will disrupt the market for silicon and democratize access to 5G for the first time.”
— Jerry Yang, founding partner at AME Cloud Ventures and co-founder of Yahoo!
