On November 15-16, Maker Faire Shenzhen 2025 was successfully held in Shenzhen. Arm China participated deeply in this summit as an enabling partner. Arm China delivered an insightful presentation, systematically outlining the forward-looking trends in edge AI. The session highlighted the key features of the newly upgraded “Zhouyi” X3 NPU IP technology and its pivotal role in advancing the developer ecosystem. Additionally, Arm China hosted an on-site exhibition booth showcasing multiple AI development boards and cutting-edge solutions based on the “Zhouyi” NPU IP.
Zhouyi X3 NPU IP Edge AI Engine, Built for Large Models
On November 15, during the “AI and More Things” Innovation Forum at the summit, Wu Dawei, Senior Marketing Manager at Arm China, delivered an insightful presentation titled “Arm’s Zhouyi X3 NPU IP: An Edge AI Engine Infusing Core Momentum into the Developer Ecosystem.” Wu Dawei highlighted that artificial intelligence is undergoing a paradigm shift from “knowledge memorization” to “problem solving.” This evolution can be clearly divided into three key stages: from the “expression and creation” era of Generative AI, to the “autonomous planning and execution” era of Agentic AI, and ultimately toward the Physical AI stage, where AI deeply integrates with the physical world. As AI computing accelerates its shift from cloud to edge and endpoint devices, terminal hardware faces increasingly demanding requirements in computational power support, energy efficiency performance, and deployment efficiency.
To address this trend, Arm has launched its new “Zhouyi” X3 NPU IP. As the first major product released under Arm’s “All in AI” strategy, it delivers high-performance hardware support across effective computing power, bandwidth, and precision. The Zhouyi X3 employs the latest DSP+DSA architecture specifically designed for large models, balancing CNN and Transformer capabilities while enabling evolution from fixed-point to floating-point computation. Each cluster delivers 8-80 FP8 TFLOPS of configurable computing power, with a single core achieving up to 256GB/s bandwidth, setting a new benchmark for edge AI computing efficiency.
Wu Dawei explained that the Zhouyi X3 NPU IP not only boasts leading hardware performance but also comes with the comprehensive and user-friendly Compass AI software platform. It supports mainstream operating systems and AI frameworks, enables one-click deployment via Hugging Face, and features industry-leading dynamic shape support for large models. Additionally, it supports mainstream large model quantization solutions like GPTQ, as well as models such as LLM, VLM, VLA, and MoE. The “Zhouyi” NPU Compass AI software platform has progressively open-sourced its core components. It supports custom operator development and debugging through an intuitive DSL programming language and open software interfaces. Currently, the platform supports over 160 operators and more than 270 models, significantly boosting development and deployment efficiency to accelerate AI application innovation and implementation for customers.
Through deep hardware-software co-design, the Zhouyi X3 NPU IP delivers comprehensive upgrades in performance, functionality, and software capabilities. It can be widely deployed in various scenarios including AI accelerator cards, smart cockpits, driver assistance systems, embodied intelligence, AI PCs, AI smartphones, smart gateways, and smart IPCs, powerfully supporting customers in achieving product differentiation and rapid market deployment.
Cutting-Edge Solutions Based on the “Zhouyi” NPU IP
Unlocking the Limitless Potential of Edge AI
Over the two-day exhibition, Arm China collaborated with multiple partners to showcase a series of AI development boards and solutions powered by the “Zhouyi” NPU IP. These included the ‘Xingrui’ O6 and “Xingrui” O6 Nano development boards, the SiRider S1 industrial development board, and OrangePi’s large-model development board for edge and endpoint AI. On-site developers and industry attendees expressed strong interest in the exhibits and the new “Zhouyi” X3, pausing to engage in in-depth discussions with the technical team on topics such as AI model deployment, hardware-software co-optimization, and specific application scenarios.
Wu Dawei stated that Arm China has established a comprehensive and highly synergistic portfolio of self-developed IP products, including the “Zhouyi” NPU, “Xingchen” CPU, “Shanhai” SPU, and ‘Linglong’ multimedia family, delivering high-quality edge AI solutions. Moving forward, Arm China will continue to advance its “AI Arm China” strategy, driving deep integration between its proprietary IP and cutting-edge Arm® technologies to continuously strengthen the foundation of AI computing power. Arm China looks forward to collaborating with developers and industry partners to truly root AI at the edge, empower everything, and jointly build an open, collaborative, and continuously innovative intelligent computing ecosystem.
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