Quadric’s Chimera QC Series GPNPU Processors has been awarded the 2025 Edge AI and Vision Product of the Year Award in the Edge AI Processors IP category.
The Chimera GPNPU family, which scales up to 800 TOPs, is the only fully C++ programmable neural processor solution that can run complete AI and machine learning models on a single architecture. This eliminates the need to partition graphs between traditional CPUs, DSPs, and matrix accelerators. Chimera processors execute every known graph operator at high performance without having to rely on slower DSPs or CPUs for less commonly used layers. This full programmability ensures that hardware built with Quadric Chimera GPNPUs can support all future vision AI models, not just a limited selection of existing networks.
Designed specifically to tackle the significant deployment challenges in machine learning inference faced by system-on-chip (SoC) developers, Quadric’s Chimera general-purpose neural processor (GPNPU) family features a simple yet powerful architecture that demonstrates improved matrix computation performance compared to traditional methods. Its key differentiator is the ability to execute diverse workloads with great flexibility within a single processor.
The Chimera GPNPU family offers a unified processor architecture capable of handling matrix and vector operations alongside scalar (control) code in one execution pipeline. In conventional SoC architectures, these tasks are typically managed separately by an NPU, DSP, and real-time CPU, necessitating the division of code and performance tuning across two or three heterogeneous cores. In contrast, the Chimera GPNPU operates as a single software-controlled core, enabling the straightforward expression of complex parallel workloads.
Driven entirely by code, the Chimera GPNPU empowers developers to continuously optimize the performance of their models and algorithms throughout the device’s lifecycle. This makes it ideal for running classic backbone networks, today’s newest Vision Transformers and Large Language Models, as well as any future networks that may be developed.
“On behalf of everyone at Quadric and our customers, we are delighted to receive this recognition of our unique AI processor IP,” said Veerbhan Kheterpal, co-founder and CEO of Quadric. “AI chips don’t have to be risky. While algorithms for edge AI constantly evolve, traditional NPU accelerators quickly become obsolete. Our Chimera processor solves this problem – it’s easy to integrate and fully programmable, handling all operations in one unified stream. This allows us to run any AI model, future-proofing your investment even when models change. We’re also investing heavily in software tools to simplify deployment and help you keep pace with AI advances. As inferencing expands across applications, the benefits of this architecture are substantial.”
Quadric Inc. is the leading licensor of fully programmable, general-purpose neural processor IP (GPNPU) capable of running both machine learning inference workloads and traditional DSP and control algorithms. Quadric’s unified hardware and software architecture is optimized for on-device ML inference, delivering up to 840 TOPs in both commercial grade and automotive-grade safety-enhanced versions.
The award trophy will be presented at the 2025 Embedded Vision Summit May 20-22 in Santa Clara, CA. The awards program is organized by the Edge AI and Vision Alliance. The Edge AI and Vision Product of the Year Awards celebrate the innovation and achievement of the industry’s leading companies that are enabling and developing products incorporating edge AI and computer vision technologies.
