GreenWaves Technologies

GreenWaves Technologies, founded in 2014, is a fabless semiconductor company that designs ultra-low power application processors for energy-constrained battery-powered devices. The company's focus is on developing processors that enable artificial intelligence and advanced classification in wireless sensing devices for various internet of Things (IoT) applications. GreenWaves' processors, based on the open-source RISC-V architecture, are designed to perform ultra-low-latency filtering with sophisticated digital signal processing and artificial intelligence while consuming only a few milliwatts of power.

The company's product line includes the GAP8, GAP9, and the upcoming GAP10 processors. The GAP8, launched in February 2018, features eight RISC-V cores and is designed for IoT applications such as image recognition, people and object counting, machine health monitoring, and speech recognition. The GAP9, which adds another RISC-V core, provides five to 10 times more compute power than GAP8 while consuming the same or less power. It is primarily targeted at the hearables market, enabling advanced features like neural network-based audio processing, Automatic Noise Cancellation (ANC), and active sound transparency.

GreenWaves' processors have demonstrated impressive performance in benchmarks. In the MLPerf Tiny v1.0 inference benchmark, the GAP9 recorded the lowest latencies and power consumption among tested processors across all tasks. The company's technology allows for energy-efficient data processing by optimizing memory architecture and reducing data movement across the chip.

The company is currently developing its next-generation processor, GAP10, which is expected to mark GreenWaves' entry into the automotive market. As of March 2023, GreenWaves had shipped 150,000 units of its first product, with sales approaching USD 1 million. The company aimed to ramp up production and bring GAP9 to market, targeting total sales of a few million dollars in 2023 and potentially tens of millions in the following year.

Key customers and partnerships

GreenWaves Technologies has gained traction in various markets with its processors. In the IoT sector, a Chinese customer uses GAP8 for smart cameras that capture daily images of analog gas meters, infer readings using machine learning, and upload data to the cloud. Another customer employs GAP8 in cameras that determine office space occupancy and transmit data to building management software.

In the hearables market, GreenWaves has secured significant interest for its GAP9 processor from tier-one TWS (True Wireless Stereo) vendors. These companies are leveraging GAP9 to introduce novel audio features such as Neural Network-based Noise Filtering and Adaptive Transparency in their products.