Hailo

Hailo Lays Off Half Its Workforce as It Seeks a Buyer or Investor

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By Yohai Schwiger

Israeli semiconductor company Hailo announced on Monday that it will lay off approximately 110 employees—about half of its workforce—as part of a broad restructuring effort aimed, according to the company, at adapting its organizational structure for the next phase of its business.

This marks the company’s second round of layoffs in recent months, following a smaller workforce reduction earlier this year.

In a statement, Hailo said it is “continuing its efficiency measures while evaluating strategic alternatives for raising capital.” The company later clarified that these alternatives include “an acquisition or investment.”

The statement further noted that the workforce reduction is intended to create “a lean and efficient technology operation” that will better support the company’s target markets while providing “a more flexible investment model for potential acquirers or investors.”

The wording offers a rare glimpse into the thinking behind the move. While many companies frame layoffs strictly as a cost-cutting measure, Hailo explicitly links the workforce reduction to the possibility of bringing in a strategic investor or pursuing a sale of the company.

According to Hailo, more than 500,000 units of its Edge AI acceleration processors have been sold to date. The company says it has built a global network of partners and distributors that now allows it to reduce some of the customer support and sales functions that were previously handled internally.

At the same time, Hailo is increasingly focusing on the emerging Physical AI market, including robotics, drones, defense applications, and intelligent IoT devices.

“Our actions today will allow us to maintain our technological leadership and continue creating value for both existing and future customers,” said Hailo CEO Orr Danon.

“We are seeing artificial intelligence move beyond the cloud and into the physical world, with tens of millions of IoT devices, drones, and robots expected to emerge in the near future,” he added.

The move represents a significant turning point for the company. In June 2024, Hailo raised $120 million at a valuation of approximately $1.2 billion, joining the ranks of Israel’s unicorn startups. At the time, the company spoke openly about continued growth and was preparing for a potential future IPO.

Since then, however, market conditions have changed dramatically.

Despite the unprecedented boom in artificial intelligence, the semiconductor industry remains one of the most capital-intensive and competitive sectors in technology. Many companies are benefiting from AI demand, but only a handful have managed to build businesses large enough to justify the enormous investments required for chip development, software ecosystems, customer support, and global supply chains.

In addition, some of the optimistic forecasts surrounding the Edge AI market—the vision that virtually every camera, robot, and connected device would eventually incorporate advanced AI capabilities—have materialized more slowly than many investors anticipated. Meanwhile, NVIDIA’s meteoric rise and the industry’s focus on hyperscale data centers and large AI models have drawn much of the market’s attention and capital toward cloud infrastructure, leaving edge-focused companies with a longer and more challenging path to scale.

Against this backdrop, Hailo’s announcement reads almost like a pitch to prospective investors or acquirers. Alongside news of the layoffs, the company highlights its sale of more than half a million AI processors, its roster of global customers, its growing defense-sector presence, its developer community, and its leadership position in the Edge AI market.

Despite the commercial traction, market penetration, and partnerships cited by the company, Hailo’s situation illustrates a broader reality of the AI era: strong technology, active customers, and successful products are not always enough to build an independent semiconductor company at global scale. High operating costs, ongoing capital requirements, and the time needed for emerging markets to mature remain formidable challenges—even for companies that, until recently, were considered among the brightest stars of Israel’s semiconductor industry.

Hailo and ASUS Unveil USB-Based AI Accelerator for Personal Computers

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[Pictured above: The ASUS UGen300 AI drive powered by a Hailo processor]

Israeli AI chipmaker Hailo and PC manufacturer ASUS have unveiled a new AI accelerator that connects to personal computers via USB, designed to support both traditional AI workloads and generative AI applications at the edge. The device, dubbed the ASUS UGen300, is the world’s first AI accelerator to arrive in a USB form factor, allowing users to connect advanced AI processing to a computer much like a standard external storage drive.

The USB-based accelerator enables edge AI capabilities on virtually any computing device, effectively turning it into an AI-ready workstation. By offloading AI workloads from the host system, the device allows developers and enterprises to run inference and generative AI tasks locally, without relying on cloud resources.

The UGen300 is powered by Hailo’s Hailo-10H processor, delivering up to 40 tera-operations per second (TOPS) for neural network acceleration. It integrates 8GB of LPDDR4 memory, enabling on-device generative AI performance using the drive’s dedicated memory, thereby avoiding additional load on the host computer. The plug-and-play USB-C connection supports Windows, Linux, and Android operating systems.

According to ASUS, the device supports a broad range of AI models, including large language models (LLMs), vision-language models (VLMs), Whisper, and a variety of computer vision networks. Users gain access to more than 100 pre-trained models through an online model zoo, spanning language, multimodal, and vision-based AI applications.

Average power consumption for the new AI drive is approximately 2.5 watts, making it suitable for continuous use on laptops and edge devices. The accelerator supports both x86 and ARM host architectures and can also be used to speed up traditional compute workloads, not limited solely to AI tasks.

Hailo announced the Hailo-10H processor around six months ago, in July 2025. It represents the company’s second generation of edge AI accelerators and is positioned as the first of its kind to enable local execution of generative AI models directly on the device, without requiring a cloud connection. The new chip builds on the vision AI capabilities introduced with Hailo’s first-generation Hailo-8 processor.

The Hailo-10H is fully integrated into Hailo’s existing development environment, which includes an active developer community of approximately 10,000 monthly users. The combination of a USB form factor, low power consumption, and broad model support positions the ASUS UGen300 as a potential enabler for bringing generative AI capabilities closer to users, at the edge of the network.

Hailo AI was selected for Raspberry Pi 5

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Tel aviv based Hailo announced that its AI processor, Hailo-8L AI accelerator, has been selected by Raspberry Pi to provide AI accelerators for the Raspberry Pi AI Kit – an AI-enabled add-on for Raspberry Pi 5. The partnership bring Hailo to a new market consistins of milions of professional and enthusiast creators and Edge solutions developers. “Our partnership with the world’s leading single-board computer provider will inspire a new era of computing, enhanced by high-performance AI processing capacity,” said Hailo CEO and Co-Founder Orr Danon.

Eben Upton, Raspberry Pi CEO, said. “Hailo’s combination of high compute power and low power consumption make it an incredibly attractive AI solution for professionals and enthusiasts alike.“The Hailo-8L AI accelerator is designed to support entry level products requiring limited AI capacity or lower performance. It provides computing power of 13 Tera-Operations Per Second (TOPS) with a typical power consumption of only 1.5W. The accelarator support X86 and ARM architectures, Linux and Windows OSs and does not require external memory. Hailo’s AI processors are already deployed by over 300 customers worldwide.

The collaboration with Raspberry Pi marks a significant milestone for Hailo. To support the growing community of developers, Hailo is introducing an online developer community featuring tutorials, FAQs, and other resources to foster innovation among creators and developers. Registered members will have the opportunity to engage with a team of Hailo experts and connect with each other to share code, experiences, resources, knowledge, and more. “Our new online community will serve as a collaborative environment,” Danon concluded.

Hailo Appoints NEXTY Electronics as Sales Promotion Partner in Japan

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Hailo, the pioneering chipmaker of edge artificial intelligence (AI) processors, announced today that it has appointed NEXTY Electronics, one of the core members of the Toyota Tsusho Group’s electronics business, as Hailo’s second sales partner in Japan, where it will focus on further advancing Hailo’s AI solutions within the automotive market.

The appointment comes on the heels of Hailo’s recent announcement that leading autonomous driving solutions provider iMotion selected the Hailo-8 AI accelerator and Renesas R-Car V4H SoC (System-on-Chip) to power the iMotion iDC High domain controller for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD). A Chinese automaker is expected to begin mass production with the iMotion iDC High domain controller in the second half of this year.

“ADAS is a key area of growth for Hailo and our partnership with NEXTY Electronics will be critical to help us expand our market presence,” said Nori Kojima, General Manager of Hailo Japan. “Hailo’s edge AI processors are cost effective and offer high-performance data processing and low power consumption to the automotive market, making advanced ADAS and autonomous driving features accessible for mass market vehicles. We’re thrilled to partner with NEXTY Electronics to be able to offer their automaker and Tier 1 customer base a wider range of AI options that can tackle even the most challenging automotive scenarios.”

NEXTY Electronics is one of the key companies in the electronics business sector of the Toyota Group Tsusho and specializes in automotive electronics, IT, communication, and industrial solutions to support smart factories, robotics and more.

The appointment of NEXTY Electronics marks another significant milestone in Japan for Hailo, which has been working with Macnica, Japan’s largest distributor of semiconductors and the fifth largest in the world to serve a variety of Japanese sectors including smart retail, cities, homes, and Industry 4.0, since 2021.

It also underscores the momentum of Hailo’s global expansion. With its products already serving over 300 clients worldwide through a robust network of distributors across the world, Hailo announced last week agreements with two new distributors – J-Squared Technologies in North America, and Macnica DHW in South America.

With offices in Tokyo, Taipei, Shenzhen, Seoul, Munich, Silicon Valley, and Chicago, coupled with a growing range of distributor partners in Asia, America, Europe and Australia, Hailo is positioned for sustained growth and innovation on a global scale.

Hailo Secures Two New Distribution Partners in America

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Adding depth to its global sales reach, Hailo, the pioneering chipmaker of edge artificial intelligence (AI) processors, announced today the addition of two partners to its distribution network: J-Squared Technologies in North America, and Macnica DHW in South America.

“The global demand for our edge AI technology is growing rapidly across a range of industries and applications, and the addition of these two prominent distribution partners will strengthen our ability to serve the needs of both current and new customers as we continue to make high-performance AI widely available and affordable outside the realm of data-centers,” said Hailo CEO and Co-Founder Orr Danon.

J-Squared Technologies, one of North America’s leading distributors of computing hardware solutions, will enable Hailo to expand its presence in both the United States and Canada, extending its reach to customers in fields such as smart retail, smart cities, smart homes, military, aerospace, Industry 4.0, and beyond.

D.C. Smalley, General Manager of Hailo North America added: “The partnership with J-Squared Technologies is part of Hailo’s strategy to strengthen collaboration with existing customers in North America to enable companies from a wide array of industries to enhance edge computing performance with AI capabilities. J-Squared has the experience and scale to help drive our business across a broad range of verticals in the region.”

Macnica DHW will serve as Hailo’s distributor in South America with a focus on Brazil. The company is a subsidiary of Macnica Japan, Japan’s largest distributor of semiconductors and the fifth largest in the world. Macnica Japan is a long-trusted Hailo distributor.

“Working with Macnica DHW will significantly strengthen our presence in Brazil and other South American countries, where interest and demand for Edge AI solutions continues to rise – specifically in the industrial, medical, smart city and security verticals,” said Yaron Ofer, Regional General Manager at Hailo. “As these customers seek to empower their devices with AI capabilities at the edge, we are confident that Macnica DHW’s expertise in disruptive technologies in the edge AI space will support the expansion of our offerings in the region.”

Since its founding in Israel in 2017, Hailo has become a leading global supplier of intelligent AI accelerators and AI vision processors, that serves more than 300 customers around the world. The company has offices in Tokyo, Taipei, Shenzhen, Seoul, Munich, Silicon Valley, and Chicago, and has a wide range of distributor partners across Asia, North America, South America, Australia, and Europe.

Hailo’s AI chips to empower new chinese car models

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Hailo, the pioneering chipmaker of edge artificial intelligence (AI) processors, today announced that leading autonomous driving solutions provider iMotion has selected the groundbreaking Hailo-8 AI accelerator and the Renesas R-Car V4H SoC (System-on-Chip) to power iMotion iDC High domain controller for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD).

The incorporation of Hailo-8 AI processors within iMotion iDC High domain controller is a giant step forward for the automotive industry, making applications such as Highway Pilot / Navigate on Autopilot (NoA), Automated Home Parking, and in the future also Urban Pilot / NoA, viable and cost-effective for mass market vehicles. A Chinese automaker is expected to begin mass production with iMotion iDC High domain controller in the second half of this year.

The high-performance iDC High enables Bird’s Eye View 3D perception for advanced automated driving applications and enhances safety and comfort with a 10V5R sensor configuration. Importantly, the low power consumption of the Hailo-8 accelerator enables passive cooling of the ECU, lowering the cost of the residual bill of materials (BoM) and simplifying the vehicle integration.

“The integration of Hailo’s groundbreaking Hailo-8 AI accelerator and the high-performance Renasas R-Car V4H SoC significantly improves the affordability of iMotion’s AD/ADAS domain controller while enabling best-in-class processing capabilities, an important development in our shared commitment to make advanced automated driving safer and more affordable for all vehicles,” said Orr Danon, Hailo CEO. “Partnering with iMotion represents another key milestone in our quest to make our AI technology foundational in the 21st century global automotive industry that needs high performance, cost-effective, robust and scalable AI solutions for automated driving and parking.”

“We chose to partner with Hailo for high performance AI in ADAS because of the advanced AI capabilities and efficiencies their Hailo-8 AI processor brings to the market for the benefit of all drivers. The Hailo-8 accelerator is unique in its ability to enable power-efficient AI acceleration of state-of-the-art Neural Networks with low energy consumption that greatly advances automotive innovation,” said iMotion CTO Calvin Lu.

Further amplifying that point, Takeshi Fuse, Vice President of Marketing, High Performance Computing Division of Renesas, noted: “The integration of the Renesas R-Car SoC with the Hailo-8 AI accelerator further enables unprecedented capabilities such as Bird’s-Eye-View 3D perception at an affordable cost for mass market vehicles. Together, we are bringing to life a new era in high performance, affordable automated driving that will benefit the Chinese automotive market specifically and the automotive industry at large.”

“Competitors Have Called to Express Concern and Solidarity”

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The war caught Hailo, a Tel Aviv-based company, during an accelerated move of launching their new product, the Hailo-15 AI vision processor, designed to bring artificial intelligence processing capabilities to  video cameras. In a special interview with Techtime, Orr Danon, the co-founder and CEO, revealed that despite many of their employees being recruited for military service, Hailo continues to operate without disruption. “We employ approximately 200 people in Israel and around 25 more overseas. Since a significant portion of our workforce is comprised of young individuals, many of them have been recruited to the army. At any given moment, several dozens of our employees are serving in the military reserves,” Danon noted.

How is your organization managing the situation?

“We have put in place a support system for our reserve soldiers, sending them required supplies based on their needs. Meanwhile, our remaining staff has stepped up their efforts beyond their usual roles. Our approach emphasizes that while functioning during such times isn’t easy, maintaining business continuity is an integral part of the fight against terror. We convey this message to our customers, ensuring that all our meetings and visits with them continue to demonstrate our operational capability and unwavering commitment to support them during these challenging circumstances. In parallel, we encourage employees to volunteer, even on account of work hours, to contribute to the home front’s war effort.”

Can you describe the status of your supply chain?

Currently, we are not encountering any delivery issues. Our primary product, an artificial intelligence processor, and its associated modules are manufactured overseas. The processor is produced by TSMC, a prominent semiconductor manufacturer, and the cards are manufactured by a leading Taiwanese producer. Therefore, we do not face any supply chain disruptions. Approximately 80% of our Israeli employees are engaged in research and development, with roughly 70% of them working as software engineers. This established structure underscores the central role of software in our product.”

How is the market responding to these challenges?

“Many customers are seeking information about our manufacturing locations to ensure that ongoing events do not disrupt our supply. Some who were not previously interested in our supply chain are now inquiring about our business continuity plan and the locations of our manufacturing. We have received supportive messages from numerous clients and business partners. Almost every CEO of a competing company has reached out personally to express concern for our well-being and offer support. This heartwarming response highlights Israel’s technological standing and the global appreciation for Israelis in tech. It reaffirms the essence of the struggle: the battle between terror and progress.”

Enhancing Image Quality within the Camera

Founded in February 2017, Hailo developed a novel architecture for artificial intelligence chips for edge devices, enabling fast and energy-efficient inference tasks on the edge of the network. This architecture is protected by numerous patents and belongs to the rare category of Data Flow Processors. The company’s flagship product, the Hailo-8 AI accelerator, delivers 26 trillion operations per second (26 TOPS) with an average power consumption of less than 2.5 Watts. Presently, approximately 300 companies are utilizing this product, with some already in mass production.

Danon explains, “In early 2023, we introduced the new Hailo-15 AI vision processor, designed to operate within cameras. It leverages our core technology – an artificial intelligence processor for applications in smart cities, security, automotive, industrial automation, and healthcare, among others. Currently, we are delivering engineering samples to leading customers, and by the end of the year, several companies will complete product evaluation. We anticipate some of them will go to mass production as early as 2024.

“One of the Hailo-15 significant capabilities is real-time image enhancement using artificial intelligence. While Hailo-8 aids in post-processing image understanding, Hailo-15 elevates the quality of images on the spot. This brings a novel dimension to security cameras, enabling the enhancement of video images at a remarkable rate of 30 frames per second, a formidable technical achievement that our robust processors make possible.”

Do you have a message for your employees and the industry at large?

“It is essential to contemplate the significance of our work. The current struggle is challenging, both personally and on a national level. These are trying times, but one of the most important actions each of us can take is to resist the defeatist attitude. Faced with the distressing circumstances we are witnessing, our triumph lies in our determination to move forward and continue innovating.”