Qualcomm's Smart AI Strategy: Scalable Software For Scalable Devices

Just before the Mobile World Congress (MWC) confab, where techies meet to enjoy tapas in Barcelona while learning about all things mobile, Qualcomm announced a new software suite. These new offerings seek to enable AI capabilities on existing Snapdragon mobile platforms. While most training of Deep Neural Networks is done in the cloud on NVIDIA GPUs, the use of these AI networks can often be done (calculated) on a mobile CPU--especially if that CPU is more than just a CPU. For Qualcomm, this is a statement of the company's intent to compete with Apple on smarter apps and smarter phones. First, Qualcomm announced the AI Engine, libraries and tools that will enable smart AI apps to use the CPU, DSP, and GPU across the company's Snapdragon chips.