Qualcomm Launches First Commercial Platform to Leverage Edge AI to Transform Network Connectivity - Qualcomm A7 Elite Professional Networking Platform

• The Qualcomm® A7 Elite professional networking platform transforms home and enterprise networks, integrating Wi-Fi and edge AI to significantly optimize Wi-Fi connections and network performance while injecting intelligent capabilities into connected terminals.
  

• OEMs and ecosystem partners can accelerate time to market and unleash the potential of generative AI by creating innovative applications using the Qualcomm® AI Hub, accessing a library of pre-optimized AI models, or optimizing their own models.

October 7, 2024, Paris, France - Qualcomm Technologies, a global leader in wireless technology innovation, announced the launch of the Qualcomm A7 Elite professional networking platform, a groundbreaking wireless networking platform that transforms the way people experience the Internet through the integration of edge AI. Based on an AI coprocessor with 40 TOPS NPU processing power, the platform not only provides better Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and network performance, but also empowers connected terminals with powerful and centralized generative AI processing capabilities.

By transformatively integrating computing power into the network, operators and enterprises will gain new business opportunities to deploy innovative applications and services in areas such as security monitoring, energy management and automation, personalized virtual assistants, home elderly care and health monitoring. Edge AI can process sensitive information at the gateway and enhance privacy, while achieving personalization through contextual understanding of the environment and achieving immediacy with near real-time responses. This approach brings advanced AI capabilities to more terminals (even traditional terminals), making the networked user experience across terminals more reliable and coordinated.

“With the Qualcomm A7 Elite Pro Networking Platform, we are proud to usher in the era of AI networking, continuing our long-standing focus on the most valuable applications and use cases for our customers and their users,” said Ganesh Swaminathan, vice president and general manager of wireless infrastructure and networking business at Qualcomm Technologies. “The Qualcomm A7 Elite Pro Networking Platform combines key elements from broadband to antenna into one integrated platform, including 10G optical, 5G, Ethernet, RF front-end modules and filters. These gateways and routers bring transformative AI processing capabilities to not only manage the modern demands of dynamically changing Wi-Fi 7 networks, but also enable a new generation of generative AI-enabled services. These services will be more seamless, responsive, personalized and privacy-focused.”

The platform is designed for developers and ecosystem partners, and through access to the Qualcomm AI Hub, developers can create new applications and new experiences, accelerate market entry and promote the development of AI-enhanced applications. This demonstrates Qualcomm Technologies' dedication to technological innovation and excellence.

Driven by Qualcomm A7 Elite professional networking platform, the new era of AI networking covering Wi-Fi routers, Mesh systems, broadband gateways and access points has gained support from the global industry.

Phil Solis, research director at IDC, said: "Wi-Fi access points are the gateway to the Internet and the core of the home networking experience. It is great to see Wi-Fi gateways like the Qualcomm A7 Elite professional networking platform evolve into AI edge platforms. This evolution not only bridges the gap between cloud and terminal AI, but also lays the foundation for a new stage of innovation in smart home terminals and their user interfaces, integrations and applications. It also opens up new business models for service providers and is an important milestone in the advancement of home network technology."

The Qualcomm A7 professional networking series is currently sampling and will be on display at Network X, held in Paris, France, from October 8 to 10. Qualcomm Technologies is showcasing its latest innovations in network connectivity, including edge AI applications, at the show. For more information about Qualcomm Technologies' participation in Network X, please visit the official website of the show or visit the booth (Hall A13) in person.