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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Hailo is an edge-AI chip company, and the $60 million in the headline was a Series B it announced on March 5, 2020—not a new 2026 funding round. The company said it would use the money to accelerate the rollout of its Hailo-8 processor and expand into new markets. In a later development, Microchip Technology announced a definitive agreement to acquire Hailo on July 27, 2026; that announcement does not establish that the deal has closed.
What does Hailo do?
Hailo develops processors for edge AI: running a trained machine-learning model on or near the device that collects or uses the data, rather than sending every image or sensor reading to a data center for processing. Its products are aimed at inference in systems such as cameras, vehicles, robots, and industrial equipment. Hailo identifies smart cities, automotive, manufacturing, agriculture, and retail among its target markets. Hailo’s company overview
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Local inference can reduce reliance on a remote server and support low-latency responses, but those are deployment goals, not guarantees that every workload will be faster, cheaper, or more private. The benefits depend on the model, hardware, connectivity, and how a system is designed.
Why did Hailo raise $60 million?
Hailo announced a $60 million Series B on March 5, 2020. It said existing investors led the round, joined by ABB Technology Ventures, NEC Corporation, and Latitude Ventures. The stated purpose was to speed the global rollout of Hailo-8 and pursue additional markets and industries. Hailo’s March 5, 2020 funding announcement
#1 Best Overall
- ✅Powered by 26 Tera-Operations Per Second (TOPS) Hailo-8 AI Processor. 2.5W typical power consumption
- ✅Scalable, enabling simultaneous processing of multi-streams & multi-models
- ✅Enabling real-time, low latency and high-efficiency AI inferencing on the edge devices
- ✅Supports TensorFlow, TensorFlow Lite, ONNX, Keras, Pytorch frameworks
- ✅Supports Linux and Windows. Supports the temperature range of -40°C to 85°C
The announcement named mobility, smart cities, industrial automation, and smart retail as areas where Hailo wanted to expand. The round included corporate investors as well as a venture firm; their participation does not by itself establish that they would deploy Hailo processors in particular products.
In the announcement, Hailo CEO and co-founder Orr Danon said: “The new funding will help us expedite the deployment of new levels of edge computing capabilities in smart devices and intelligent industries around the world, including areas such as mobility, smart cities, industrial automation, smart retail and beyond.” Hailo’s announcement
Rank #2
- High-Performance Dual-Core with Ample Memory--- Equipped with a 360MHz dual-core RISC-V processor, 32MB of onboard PSRAM, and 32MB of Flash memory, providing powerful processing capabilities and ample runtime for complex multimedia applications and edge computing.
- Powerful Multimedia Processing Center--- Integrated with a dedicated image processor (ISP), H.264 video encoder, and JPEG codec, perfectly supporting camera input and video processing, making it an ideal choice for developing smart displays, video surveillance, and other projects.
- Hardware-Level Security Protection--- Built-in digital signature, encryption accelerator, and key management unit, providing a one-stop hardware-level security solution from secure boot and data encryption to access control management, ensuring the security of your products and data.
- Full Connectivity Coverage: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, PoE Power Supply--- Onboard with an ESP32-C6 chip, supporting the latest Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0; it also integrates an Ethernet port with PoE functionality, providing high-speed, flexible, and stable network connectivity, and can be powered directly via Ethernet cable, simplifying deployment.
- Rich interfaces and strong expandability--- It provides a MIPI camera/display interface, high-speed USB, SD card slot, microphone/speaker interface and a large number of programmable GPIOs, which greatly facilitates the expansion of external devices and meets the needs of various human-computer interaction and Internet of Things applications. Supports AI Speech Interaction: Allows access to online large model platforms such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Doubao, etc.
What is Hailo-8?
Hailo-8 is the deep-learning processor at the center of the 2020 funding announcement. Hailo’s product brief lists a maximum of 26 tera-operations per second (TOPS) and typical power consumption of 2.5 watts. These are vendor specifications from a product brief with no publication date stated, not independent benchmark results. Hailo describes variants for commercial, industrial, and automotive use. Hailo-8 product brief
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TOPS alone does not establish how quickly a particular model will run: comparisons also depend on workload and precision. The figures are useful as stated product specifications, not as a complete measure of real-world performance.
Rank #3
- Powered by 26 Tera-Operations Per Second (TOPS) Hailo-8 AI Processor.
- 2.5W typical power consumption
- Enabling real-time low latency and high-efficiency AI inferencing on the edge devices
- Supports TensorFlow TensorFlow Lite, ONNX, Keras, Pytorch frameworks
- Supports Linux and Windows.
What does a Hailo chip look like in a real device?
One accessible example is Raspberry Pi’s AI HAT+, an add-on for Raspberry Pi 5 that includes a Hailo accelerator. Raspberry Pi lists two versions:
| Raspberry Pi add-on | Accelerator | Stated performance | Host and status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI HAT+ (13 TOPS) | Hailo-8L | 13 TOPS, per Raspberry Pi’s product page | For Raspberry Pi 5; Raspberry Pi says it will remain in production until at least January 2030 |
| AI HAT+ (26 TOPS) | Hailo-8 | 26 TOPS, per Raspberry Pi’s product page | For Raspberry Pi 5; Raspberry Pi says it will remain in production until at least January 2030 |
| AI HAT+ 2 | Hailo-10H | 40 TOPS, per Raspberry Pi’s 2026 announcement and documentation | Requires Raspberry Pi 5 and supported software; designed for local generative-AI workloads |
| AI Kit | Hailo-based | Not stated in the cited Raspberry Pi sources | No longer in production; Raspberry Pi recommends AI HAT+ for new designs |
Raspberry Pi says AI HAT+ works with its camera software for supported inference workloads. It is a Raspberry Pi add-on containing a Hailo accelerator, not a standalone computer or simply the Hailo-8 chip by itself. Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ product page Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ and AI Kit documentation
Rank #4
- High-Performance AI Processing: The MX3 is designed to handle the most demanding AI computer vision workloads, delivering exceptional performance and efficiency.
- Flexible Integration: The MX3 can be easily integrated into your existing systems via its M.2 M-key form factor and support for Linux operating systems.
- Energy Efficient: The MX3 is designed to provide high performance while minimizing power consumption.
- Comprehensive Software Development Kit (SDK): The MX3 is supported by a comprehensive SDK that simplifies development and deployment.
- Hardware compatability: The MX3 is compatible with the PCI-SIG M.2 M-key 2280 Specification. It can be used with the Raspberry Pi 5 with a M-key 2280 HAT.
The AI HAT+ 2 is a separate, newer product built around Hailo-10H. Its generative-AI focus and 40 TOPS specification should not be confused with the Hailo-8-based hardware behind the 2020 financing announcement. Raspberry Pi AI HAT+ 2 documentation
What happened to Hailo after the funding announcement?
On July 27, 2026, Microchip Technology announced a definitive agreement to acquire Hailo. The cited announcement establishes an agreement, not that the acquisition has closed. Microchip’s July 27, 2026 announcement
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