BrainChip Enables the Next Generation of Always-On Wearables With the AkidaTag© Reference Platform

New Platform for wearable AI and industrial uses combines the company’s Akida AKD1500 neuromorphic co-processor silicon with Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF5340 wireless SoC for intelligent low-power sensing

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BrainChip Holdings Ltd. (ASX: BRN, OTCQX: BRCHF, ADR: BCHPY), the world’s first commercial producer of ultra-low-power, fully digital, event-based neuromorphic AI, today announced at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany the launch of AkidaTag^©, a reference platform for smart sensing in a battery-powered tag powered by Nordic Semiconductor.

Intelligent wearable and remote industrial sensors can deliver always-on sensing on a battery without relying on a connection to a mobile device, PC or the cloud. Offering on-device adaptive learning allows personalization of the model while in use on-device, addressing the challenge of “one-size-fits-all” trained models and reducing the need to transmit data off the device for retraining on a GPU. OEMs can rapidly develop products based on the AkidaTag reference design using design partners.

BrainChip AKD1500 operates as a dedicated neuromorphic AI co-processor, delivering optimal energy efficiency while the Nordic nRF5340 wireless SoC handles connectivity, sensor management, and application logic. This provides a foundation for wearables and remote sensing device manufacturers to build devices that can interpret and communicate information effectively. AkidaTag features connectivity through Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF5340 Bluetooth^® Low Energy (LE) SoC on-device wireless communications. A BrainChip-developed mobile application utilizes this connection to set up configuration, load, and update models and firmware as well as receive diagnostics, logging, and alerts to the mobile device.

AkidaTag offers a blueprint and development kit with full design, hardware, firmware, and mechanicals that enable wearables makers and other manufacturers to build devices that can:

• Monitor biological signals for health and wellness applications while preserving privacy through fully on-device processing. Low power usage allows for days of monitoring vital health signals.

• Detect anomalies in vibration and motion for classification in industrial equipment, enabling predictive maintenance.
• Voice wake-up commands for intelligent interfaces.
• Acoustic ambient environment detection and classification.

• Personalization of the device AI model using on-device edge learning and self-learning through neuromorphic principles.

“At BrainChip, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible at the edge,” said Sean Hehir, CEO of BrainChip. “By leveraging the robust ecosystem of Nordic Semiconductor, we are providing product designers with a blueprint for the future of wearables that’s always-on, privacy-first, and self-learning. This platform proves that high-performance AI and long battery life are no longer mutually exclusive.”

“Seeing BrainChip use our technology to enable always-on neuromorphic AI demonstrates the potential of our wireless SoCs to drive the next wave of innovation in wearable and connected health markets,” said Petter Myhre, Product Marketing Director at Nordic Semiconductor. “The nRF5340 is the world’s first wireless SoC with two Arm® Cortex®-M33 processors, making it the perfect choice for complex IoT applications that require both high performance and extreme energy efficiency.”

BrainChip will highlight the AkidaTag’s capabilities at Embedded World (Hall 5, booth 5-213) through a self-contained battery-powered “puck.” This will feature an integrated accelerometer for motion detection and a microphone for voice and vibration recognition. It can perform various functions, including keyword spotting, anomaly detection, and voice-activated wake-up. Control is through a mobile app that dynamically displays results and enables users to download activities for analysis.

Availability: The reference platform is licensed to accelerate development for OEMs and system integrators; including hardware schematics, firmware, and a companion mobile application. It will be available for evaluation in May 2026, with volume in Q3 2026.

Additional resources:

• BrainChip Expands IP Business Model with AKD1500 Production to Accelerate Edge AI Deployment
• Solving Physical AI Challenges
• Use Cases: Low-power AI Applications Across Industries

About BrainChip Holdings Ltd:

BrainChip is the worldwide leader in Edge AI on-chip processing and learning. The company’s first-to-market, fully digital, event-based AI processor, Akida™ uses neuromorphic principles to mimic the human brain, analyzing only essential sensor inputs at the point of acquisition and processing data with unmatched efficiency, precision, and energy economy. BrainChip’s Temporal Event-based Neural Networks (TENNs) build on State-Space Models (SSMs) with time-sensitive, event-driven frameworks that are ideal for real-time streaming applications. These innovations make low-power Edge AI deployable across industries such as aerospace, autonomous vehicles, robotics, industrial IoT, consumer devices, and wearables. BrainChip is advancing the future of intelligent computing, bringing AI closer to the sensor and closer to real-time. Explore more at www.brainchip.com. Follow BrainChip on X or LinkedIn.