THINCI

Originally founded as ThinCI in 2010 and rebranded to Blaize in 2019, the company operates as a key player in the artificial intelligence hardware and software sector. The firm was established in El Dorado Hills, California, by a team that includes Dinakar Munagala, Ke Yin, Satyaki Koneru, and Val Cook. CEO Dinakar Munagala, a Purdue University alumnus, brought over a decade of experience from Intel's graphics processor division, a background that has shaped the company's direction in creating energy-efficient processor architectures for new computing demands. Ke Yin also spent 12 years at Intel, contributing to various aspects of ASIC development before co-founding the company.

Blaize provides full-stack, AI-enabled computing solutions targeting the edge computing market. Its business model focuses on delivering hardware and software to a diverse client base that includes the automotive, smart vision, retail, security, and industrial automation sectors. Revenue is generated through several streams: direct hardware sales of edge AI boxes and servers, recurring revenue from monthly per-device charges through its partner ecosystem, and comprehensive system solutions that bundle hardware, professional services, and ongoing support. The company has secured substantial funding from strategic investors like DENSO, Mercedes-Benz, Samsung, and Franklin Templeton, which has fueled its product development and commercialization efforts.

The company’s core offering is a combination of its programmable processor architecture and a low-code/no-code software platform. A primary product is the Graph Streaming Processor (GSP), an architecture designed from the ground up for AI workloads, enabling efficient processing for tasks like computer vision and neural networks. This is complemented by the Blaize AI Software Suite, which includes the Picasso SDK for developers and AI Studio, a code-free, visual platform that allows non-developers to build and deploy AI applications. This suite is designed to shorten development time from months to days by automating the conversion and optimization of AI models for Blaize's hardware. The company's platforms, such as the Pathfinder and Xplorer, are built to deliver real-time data analysis and decision-making with low power consumption, targeting applications from in-cabin automotive systems to smart city infrastructure.

Keywords: edge computing, AI processors, graph streaming processor, low-code AI platform, automotive AI, computer vision, industrial automation, semiconductor, machine learning, smart city solutions