Anker Thus: Tiny AI memory chip improves noise cancellation
Mini-chips manufactured in Dresden will be used in in-ear headsets in the future. Anker's Thus runs AI models in NOR flash.
Render images of Thus suggest a chip the size of a desktop processor. In reality, however, the chip is only a few square millimeters in size.
(Image: Anker)
The power supply and power bank specialist Anker is entering the AI chip market. Unlike many startups, however, Anker is not bringing the umpteenth AI accelerator for servers, but a niche chip specialized for tiny end devices called Thus. It is primarily intended for in-ear headsets, where it is supposed to suppress ambient noise more reliably during phone calls than previous alternatives.
Thus is a NOR flash memory component without classic CPU cores or matrix units. Instead, a controller modulates the resistances of the NOR gates so that they map the necessary matrices (Compute in Memory, CIM). NOR stands for “not or”; corresponding gates perform the NOT OR operations.
The principle already existed in the 90s. At that time, Mitsubishi offered 3DRAM, which could perform simple operations of an arithmetic-logic unit. In the age of AI, compute in memory is regaining importance.
Tiny with moderate computing power
The CIM principle has two advantages that benefit in-ears: it saves space and uses only a few milliwatts of electrical power, as data does not have to be moved back and forth between the CPU and memory in an energy-intensive way. Contrary to Anker's imagery, Thus is only a few square millimeters in size.
On the downside, the computing power is comparatively low. Thus is said to achieve around five billion operations per second. The AI units in modern mobile processors like Intel's Core Ultra 300 are about 10,000 times faster. According to Anker, Thus is sufficient for AI models with several million parameters.
Videos by heise
Made in Germany
A chip contract manufacturer produces the Thus chips in Dresden; Anker does not provide further details. X-Fab and Globalfoundries produced NOR flash in the region. At the end of 2023, Globalfoundries announced a manufacturing process together with Microchip that would fit: 28SLPe.
In the future, Thus is intended to become a platform from which further chip variants for other application areas will emerge. The first products with the chips are expected to appear in the coming months, such as headsets from Anker's Soundcore brand.
(mma)
