Imagination brings in lower-cost access for accelerator IP

Imagination Technologies has dropped the requirement to take an upfront licence for some of its IP cores if customers join its Open Access program.

Similar to other programs of this type, companies will pay royalties once they start shipping. However, members that opt for the Open Access offer will need to take out a support and maintenance contract at a cost of $270,000, which covers six man-months of support time that can be used up to a maximum period of two calendar years. Each additional man-month of support costs $50,000.

Imagination said the aim is to lowers the barrier of entry to acquiring GPU and neural-network accelerator cores that are suitable for advanced IoT and AI products. “Enabling innovation at scale-up levels is essential in driving technological progress across the industry. Imagination’s class-leading, high-quality IP is silicon-proven – meaning it significantly reduces design risk for those who need it most,” said Jim Wallace, senior director of strategic business development at Imagination. “Our PowerVR Series8XE GPU and PowerVR Series3NX NNAs have shipped in multiple markets from mobile and automotive to consumer devices, DTV and DCD applications. By removing the licensing fee for this IP, Open Access offers a more accessible route to cutting-edge SoC creation.”

Open Access provides access to four PowerVR Series8XE GPUs and three PowerVR Series3NX NNAs. The package also includes the suite of support tools, including the PVRTune hardware-profiling tool.