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Axera AX620 (AX620A)

Product Overview​

AX620A (commonly known as AX620) is a high-compute, high-energy-efficiency, low-power AI SoC for smart cities and consumer vision that Axera (AXERA) taped out and lit up in July 2021. It integrates a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7, a proprietary AI-ISP (among the first in the industry to apply AI to image signal processing), and a mixed-precision NPU. It is positioned slightly below the flagship AX630A (about half the compute) but is deeply optimized for home smart network cameras, access control, and industrial cameras.

The AX620A's NPU provides 14.4 TOPS@INT4 / 3.6 TOPS@INT8 of compute (note: some overviews cite "about 10 TOPS class", which is actually the INT4 figure; the INT8 peak is 3.6 TOPS). It supports up to 4K30fps ISP and 4 camera inputs, achieving extremely high chip efficiency through its two core technologies: "mixed-precision NPU + proprietary AI-ISP".

Core Specifications​

ParameterValue
ArchitectureQuad-core ARM Cortex-A7 + proprietary mixed-precision NPU + AI-ISP
Process Node12nm (FinFET, TSMC)
FP16 / BF16 ComputeNot disclosed
INT8 Compute3.6 TOPS
INT4 Compute14.4 TOPS
FP32 ComputeNot disclosed
Memory CapacityNot disclosed (onboard LPDDR4/LPDDR4X)
Memory TypeLPDDR4 / LPDDR4X
Memory BandwidthNot disclosed
TDPNot disclosed (estimated < 2 W; same-generation AX630A < 3 W)
InterconnectMIPI-CSI (multiple lanes), MIPI-DSI, Gigabit Ethernet (RGMII), USB2.0/3.0, I2C/UART/PWM/GPIO
InterfaceSoC onboard (IPC / camera module)
Launch2021-07 (lit up)
Mass Production/AvailabilityIn mass production 2021–2022

Key Features​

  • Proprietary AI-ISP: full-color imaging in near darkness and low-light noise reduction, delivering clear color images even in near-dark environments.
  • Mixed-precision NPU: flexible INT4 / INT8 deployment, improving compute utilization and reducing DDR requirements.
  • 4K30 ISP: up to 4K@30fps image processing, 2DOL/3D noise reduction, and vignette compensation.
  • Multi-camera input: up to 4 cameras and dual 1080p independent displays, suited to differentiated access-control applications.
  • Ultra-low power: compact package and low power, fitting always-on/battery-powered vision terminals.
  • Dual-market coverage: a single chip covers both the smart city and consumer IPC markets, reducing overall cost.

Vendor Information​

ItemDetails
CompanyAxera Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (AXERA, 0600.HK)
HeadquartersShanghai, China
Founded2019-05

Use Cases​

  • ✅ Smart cameras/IPC, access control devices, home network cameras, smart cities, industrial cameras
  • ❌ LLM inference, multi-stream concurrency above 4K resolution

References​