A system-on-chip is a single microchip that packs many functions of a computing system — processor cores, memory, graphics, connectivity and control circuits — onto one small piece of silicon, like a Swiss Army knife that replaces several separate tools. For investors, they matter because they lower cost, size and power needs while improving performance, making them central to growth and margins in smartphones, automotive electronics, data centers and Internet-of-Things devices.
voice activity detectiontechnical
Voice activity detection is a software feature that listens to an audio stream and decides when a human voice is present versus silence or background noise, much like a guard who only rings the bell when someone speaks. For investors, it matters because it reduces data, speeds up processing, and improves accuracy in products like voice assistants, call analytics, telehealth and automated transcription, which can lower costs and enhance user experience.
keyword spottingtechnical
Keyword spotting is the process of scanning news, filings or audio and flagging specific words or short phrases that may signal important developments for a company, such as earnings, bankruptcy, merger, or drug approval. For investors it acts like a smoke detector: it quickly highlights potentially market-moving language so traders and analysts can review items faster and decide whether to act. It speeds up monitoring across large volumes of documents and broadcasts.
speech enhancementtechnical
Speech enhancement is technology that cleans up recorded or live voice by reducing background noise, echoes, and interference so spoken words come through clearer—think of it as noise-canceling for conversations. For investors, it matters because better clarity improves user experience and the effectiveness of voice-driven products and services, which can increase adoption, justify premium pricing, reduce support costs, and open new markets for devices and software that rely on reliable voice input.
speaker identificationtechnical
Speaker identification is the process of determining which person is talking in an audio recording or transcript, either by human labeling or automated software. For investors it matters because knowing who said what — for example a CEO versus an analyst — helps assign responsibility, judge credibility and intent, and spot nuance in earnings calls or regulatory briefings much like knowing the driver of a car helps you judge why it made a certain maneuver.
embedded systemstechnical
Embedded systems are dedicated computer components built into machines or products to control specific functions—think of the tiny brain inside a microwave, a car’s braking system, or a smart thermostat. Investors care because these systems shape a product’s features, reliability and cost structure, can enable recurring revenue through software updates and services, and often indicate where demand and competitive advantage will grow in hardware-driven markets.
Open-source audio AI development kit enables manufacturers to bring real-time voice intelligence to ultra-low-power devices—without the cloud
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ambiq Micro, Inc. (“Ambiq®”)— Ambiq, a leader in ultra-low-power semiconductor solutions, today announced soundKIT, its fourth open-source AI Development Kit (ADK), designed to accelerate the adoption of always-on, real-time, on-device audio and speech intelligence for power-constrained edge devices.
Built for Ambiq’s ultra-low-power system-on-chips (SoCs), soundKIT enables device manufacturers and AI teams to design, validate, and deploy production-ready audio AI functions—including voice activity detection, keyword spotting, speech enhancement, and speaker identification—while meeting the strict power, latency, and reliability requirements of embedded systems.
“Always-on audio is quickly becoming a defining capability for edge devices, but power, latency, and cloud dependence have held manufacturers back,” said Scott Hanson, CTO of Ambiq. “soundKIT removes those barriers by giving teams a direct path from experimentation to deployment on ultra-low-power hardware, accelerating adoption of on-device audio AI at scale.”
Designed for end-to-end commercial development, soundKIT provides a modular, open-source framework—beyond a traditional “model zoo”—spanning data preparation, training, evaluation, export, and real-time demonstration. Teams can prototype on PC and validate on Ambiq evaluation boards using identical configurations, enabling earlier, hardware-aware decisions and reducing development risk.
soundKIT supports a wide range of high-growth edge applications, including smart homes and wearable devices, automotive in-cabin systems, industrial monitoring, healthcare and assistive technologies, security, and consumer audio products—where low latency, long battery life, and reliable offline operation are essential.
The kit features configurable pipelines for common embedded audio AI tasks like speech enhancement, voice activity detection, keyword spotting, and speaker identification, along with real-time demos on both PC and Ambiq hardware platforms. soundKIT uses a flexible, license-respecting bring-your-own-data approach and seamlessly integrates with Ambiq’s ultra-low-power SoCs.
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Ambiq’s mission is to enable intelligence (artificial intelligence (AI) and beyond) everywhere by delivering the lowest power semiconductor solutions. Ambiq enables its customers to deliver AI compute at the edge where power consumption challenges are the most severe. Ambiq’s technology innovations, built on the patented and proprietary subthreshold power optimized technology (SPOT®), fundamentally deliver a multi-fold improvement in power consumption over traditional semiconductor designs. Ambiq has powered over 290 million devices to date.
