Amir Sherman left Arrow Electronics to establish his own consultancy firm

After 20 years of leading technical marketing in Arrow Electronics in both Israel and across Europe, Amir Sherman has decided to leave the company to build his own business development consultancy and TinyML and Embedded-ML Technologies firm. “I have fulfilled my goals with the company”, he told Techtime. “It’s time for a new adventure.”

Amir joined Arrow Electronics Israel in 2001 as a Field Application Engineer with responsibility for microcontrollers and microprocessors, and later to become FAE Manager and Technical & Marketing Manager. In 2013, he relocated to Germany having been promoted to Supplier Business Manager for ST Microelectronics in EMEA. In Germany he had established the Embedded Group and the System On Module programme in Arrow.

In this role he was part of the team that developed more than 30 Arrow Boards and Platforms, while also helping to develop the Hardware team in Budapest and the Software team in Gdansk. The Gdansk team drives both AI and IoT activities within the company. In his last role in Arrow he was the Director of Embedded Technologies and Engineering Solutions, and also General Manager for Israel.

What are you doing now?

“At Arrow I managed several Arrow Platforms based on the popular 96Boards Community like the Dragonboard410 or Avenger96. I am now doing the same for global semiconductor companies that wish to build similar programs. I am also helping Israeli companies with specific business development requirement: introducing them to global partners and introducing semiconductor companies to local distributors and developing business plans for them. Lately, Edge Impulse has nominated me Country Manager and a Global promoter of an innovative platform that simplifies AI-ML in Embedded systems under TinyML and Embedded-ML.“

What is TinyML? Why is it so important?

“It is a fascinating technology, as it takes Embedded and IoT to the next level by adding Machine Learning at the Edge – not in the Cloud. TinyML refers to the machine learning technologies on the tiniest of microprocessors using the least possible power (usually in the mW range and below) while delivering optimum results.

“According to ABI Research, a total of 2.5 billion devices are expected to be shipped with a Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML) chipset in 2030, propelled by the increasing focus on low latency, advanced automation, and the availability of ultra-power-efficient Artificial Intelligence (AI) chipsets, also known as Very Edge AI or Embedded AI.

“These chipsets perform AI inference almost completely on board, but still continue to rely on external resources for training, such as gateways, on-premise servers, or the Cloud. Edge Impulse was designed for software developers, engineers and domain experts to solve real problems using ML on edge devices, with no need to be an expert in machine learning. The technology features cloud-based UX, extensive documentation and open source SDKs.”

Amir Sherman to Head Arrow Electronics Israel

Amir Sherman has been appointed to Manage Arrow Electronics Israel and will head Arrows activities in Israel while serving as Director Embedded Technology in Arrow Electronics Europe. In an interview with Techtime, Amir said that he will concentrate on business development and new initiatives, while Eldad Yassur continue his position as General Manager of Sales.

Amir joined Arrow Electronics Israel in 2001, as Field Engineer and later as the manager of the local Micro-controllers and Micro-processors engineering team. In 2013 he was appointed Business Development Manager for STMicroelectronics in Europe and relocated to Frankfurt, Germany. Prior to his return to Israel, Amir served as Director of Engineering Solutions & Embedded Technology at Arrow EMEA, where he was responsible for Arrow Centralized Engineering Solution Centre (ESC),  built software capabilities in Firmware, AI and IoT, and launched the Arrow Partner Program, to help customers shorten design cycles with on-demand engineering resources and experts.

FPGAs, SoMs and TI Revolution

His immediate challenge, he said, is to expand the team in Israel following Texas Instruments (TI) decision to end its relationships with most of its distributors, beside Arrow Electronics, starting in 2021. “Now we are recruiting additional team in order to support Texas Instruments sales in Israel.

“The second phase will be focused on market buildup: Pushing the sales of programmable boards based on Intel PSG (formerly Altra) FPGAs. Over the past years we have helped many companies, such as Trenz (Germany) and Exor Embedded (Italy), do develop unique Programmable SoMs. I believe they are very relevant to the Israeli market.”

Another initiative is called “Partnership with SoM customers”. What does it mean? Amir: “The idea is to find local customers who develop amazing boards and solutions, provide them with the needed components, and then make them our suppliers and sell those products to Arrow’s customers around the world. We have already did it with SolidRun, Variscite and Shiratech Solutions with huge success. For me it was just the beginning.”