Science & Tech · AI · 2 hrs ago
Axera unveils AI chip aimed at Nvidia's DGX Spark
Chinese chipmaker Axera unveiled its AX8860 series of processors designed to run large language models on local computers.
The series includes the AX8860P, with up to 256 TOPS of AI compute, according to Axera.
The chips are intended for compact AI computers from companies including Sipeed and Radxa.
Sipeed says its upcoming MaixStation could outperform Nvidia's DGX Spark in some workloads, but the claim has not been independently established in the available information.
Axera says its proprietary AXNeutron design is built for AI inference and may improve hardware use while reducing data movement.
Limited technical details make real-world performance hard to judge, and the advertised compute figure alone does not show how the chip performs over time.
The AX8860 series is planned for use in upcoming computers, but no release dates are given.
Axera unveiled its AX8860 series of processors designed to run large language models locally.
The AX8860P has 16 Arm Cortex-A55 CPU cores and an NPU rated at up to 256 TOPS of FP4 compute performance.
Axera says the chip uses a proprietary architecture designed for AI inference, but it has disclosed few details about the NPU.
Sipeed says its upcoming MaixStation, which will use an AX8860-series chip, can outperform Nvidia’s DGX Spark in select workloads.
The available specifications do not establish the chip’s sustained performance in real-world workloads.
- Who
- Chinese chipmaker Axera unveiled the AX8860 series.
- What
- The series is designed to run large language models locally; the AX8860P is the featured processor.
- When
- October 19, 2026, the article’s publication date.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- The processors are designed to run large language models locally.
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- Processor
- Axera AX8860P
- CPU cores
- 16 Arm Cortex-A55 cores
- NPU performance
- Up to 256 TOPS of FP4 compute
- Manufacturing process
- 6 nm
- Memory support
- Up to 128 GB of LPDDR5X
- Maximum memory bandwidth
- 273 GB/s