As tech giants set their sights on 2024, a consensus is emerging: this year will be the first year of AI hardware. From Qualcomm to Lenovo to OPPO, major manufacturers have high hopes for the application of AI in terminal devices, which is regarded as the key to boosting the consumer electronics market.
Under the wave of AI models, hardware manufacturers are eager to migrate AI from the cloud to terminal devices to preemptively establish AI OS (operating system) after iOS, Android, and Windows. According to Tianyancha data, the number of enterprises involved in AI hardware research and development has grown rapidly in recent years, and the amount of investment has also shown a significant upward trend. This trend reflects the industry's optimistic expectations for the future of AI hardware.
However, the application of AI in end devices is not an easy task. At present, although major manufacturers have released a new generation of AI systems, there are still many challenges in combining with large models. First of all, the "brain" of the hardware, the NPU (neural network processor) chip, is still in the early stage of research and development, and it is difficult to meet the needs of high efficiency and low energy consumption of large models. Second, the scenarios in which AI can be implemented on smart terminals are still limited, which is mainly limited by the ability of large models and the inconsistent adaptation protocols of hardware.
It is worth mentioning that despite the many challenges, some devices aimed at vertical scenarios have quickly opened up the market when combined with AI models. This shows that on the development path of AI hardware, innovation and application in vertical fields may become a breakthrough.
In this regard, industry experts pointed out that the development of AI hardware needs to solve technical bottlenecks and standardization problems. On the one hand, hardware manufacturers need to increase R&D investment to improve the performance and efficiency of NPU chips. On the other hand, global software and hardware vendors need to establish unified adaptation protocols and standards to promote the application of AI in more scenarios.
Looking ahead, the AI hardware market will be full of opportunities and challenges. With the continuous advancement of technology and the gradual maturity of the market, we have reason to believe that AI hardware will become an important force in the consumer electronics market in the future. At the same time, manufacturers also need to keep a clear head and fully understand the complexity and long-term nature of AI hardware development in order to remain invincible in the fierce market competition.
Data support: Tianyancha).