Foxconn

Nanox has completed a $110 Million Funding Round

Posted on by Techtime

Above: Nanox founder and CEO, Ran Polyakin. Photo: LUZ corporate photography

Nanox, the developer Digital CT devices and cloud-based diagnostic services from Jerusalem, announced  the completion of a $110 million funding round. Among the prominent investors who participated in the round were Foxconn, Fujifilm and SK Telecom. The company has raised $137 million to date. Nanox developed digitalComputed Tomography technology based on the production of X-rays using a MEMS instead of an incandescent lamp.

According to the company’s estimates, the new technology will make it possible to produce CT systems at a cost of $10,000 per system, instead of approximately $3 million – the current average price of CT scanners. CT scanners perform multiple X-rays from different angles. Following the photography, a computer program is used to fuse all the images into a single three-dimensional file that allows the exploration of the body and its organs.

Business model of Pay-per-Scan

The development was carried out by a team of Israeli engineers and a team of Japanese engineers. The company is headed by the founder Ran Polyakin, former founder and CEO of the wireless charging Powermat. Aside from the lower price and size of the systems, digital CT devices provide higher quality images, and having fewer errors resulting from relative movement between the scanner and the subject.

Also, they enable multi-spectral imaging, and real-time connectivity between the imaging system and the therapeutic devices, thus allows treatment to be performed under CT examination. The first commercial, Nanox.ARC, comes with a cloud platform consists of AI-based assistive diagnostic tools and friendly user interface for the doctor.

The company markets the systems through collaborations with governments and health service organizations, and has signed distribution agreements in 13 countries. Nanox plans to offer the use of its systems in the format of a service: payment is determined according to the number of scans (Pay-per-Scan), thereby reducing the costs of acquisition.

Foxconn and Hailo to Launch Edge AI Computer

Posted on by Techtime

Foxconn has combined its edge computing solution, BOXiedge, with the Japanese Socionext parallel processor SynQuacer” SC2A11, and the Hailo-8 deep learning processor developed by Tel Aviv based chipmaker Hailo. The new device aimed to provide powerful AI processing solution for video analytics at the edge. The new BOXiedge is capable of processing and analyzing over 20 streaming camera input feeds in real-time, all at the edge, including image classification, detection, pose estimation, and other AI-powered applications.

This is a milestone win for Hailo, a chipmaker startup who was established in 2017 and had completed a $60 million financing round in March 2020, with the participation ABB Technology Ventures (VC arm of ABB) and NEC Corporation. The funding will be used to enter mass production of the company’s Hailo-8 Deep Learning chip during 2020. Today the company employs approximately 80 employees.

The company’s Hailo-8 processor is a dedicated Neural Networks processor aimed to implement inference functions on edge devices in Automotive and Industrial applications. Hailo-8 processor reaches up to 26 Tera Operations Per Second (TOPS) and 3 TOPS per Watt. It is comprised of four main components: an Image Signal Processor to improve the image arriving from the sensor before its transfer for processing by the neural network core, an H.264 encoder that handles the video stream, an ARM-M4 processor to manages the chip, and a unique Neural Network core.

Orr Danon, CEO and Co-Founder of Hailo
Orr Danon, CEO and Co-Founder of Hailo

“Our vision is to pave the way for next generation AI solutions,” said Gene Liu, VP of Semiconductor Subgroup at Foxconn Technology Group. “We recognize the great potential in adopting AI solutions for a multitude of applications, such as tumor detection and robotic navigation. This platform will positively impact rapidly evolving sectors including smart cities, smart medical, smart retail, and industrial IoT.”

Foxconn has already deployed several in-house developed AI solutions on different production lines, leading to a reduction of at least one third of the operating costs for appearance defect inspection projects. “We are thrilled to collaborate with two of the global leaders in AI solutions,” said Orr Danon, CEO and Co-Founder of Hailo. “A new generation of chips means a new generation of capabilities at the edge.”