STMicroelectronics to boost AI at the edge with new NPU-accelerated STM32 microcontrollers

STMicroelectronics is making embedded artificial intelligence (AI) truly here-to-help with a new microcontroller series integrating, for the first time, accelerated machine-learning (ML) capabilities. This enables cost-sensitive, power-conscious consumer and industrial products to provide high-performance features leveraging computer vision, audio processing, sound analysis and other algorithms, until now beyond the capabilities of small embedded systems.

The STM32N6 microcontroller (MCU) series is ST’s most powerful to date, and the first to embed ST’s proprietary neural processing unit (NPU), the Neural-ART Accelerator, delivering 600 times more machine-learning performance than a high-end STM32 MCU today. The STM32N6 has been available to selected customers since October 2023 and is now ready to be offered in high volumes.

The STM32N6 has an 800 MHz Arm^® Cortex^®-M55 core, delivering an unprecedented 3,360 CoreMark score. The MCUs are also available in a version without the Neural-ART accelerator, for applications requiring all the performance, interfaces and functionality of the STM32N6, without integrating advanced AI algorithms (more info).