Ainekko
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
Ainekko firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ainekko
- Legal name
- Ainekko, Co.
- Website
- https://nekko.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ainekko industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open-Source Edge AI Silicon
- NAICS
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (3344)
- SIC
- Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC) (HDAHABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Edge AI Hardware & NPUs (SoCs, modules, accelerators) (HDAAAJAC), Silicon IP Subsystems & Chiplet IP (Die-to-Die, UCIe, NoC, I/O chiplets) (HDAHAFAH), Design Services & ASIC/SoC Implementation (EDA-Adjacent) (HDAHAFAL)
Keywords
Where Ainekko is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices6 records
Markets served
Ainekko business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Open-source silicon platform and licensing: Providing open-source hardware platform for AI-native silicon development. Revenue likely derived from silicon sales, licensing of proprietary technology components, and professional services for tape-out and customization.
- Hardware and development tools: Sale of silicon (ET-SoC-1, Erbium platform) and associated development frameworks, software tooling, and reference designs for edge AI hardware development.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ainekko product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ainekko builds composable open-source silicon for edge AI inference, combining many-core 64-bit RISC-V compute (ET-SoC-1 with 1,088 cores), MRAM-based iRAM memory, and an open software stack. The platform is delivered through AI Foundry (aifoundry.org) and the OpenHW Foundation under Eclipse Foundation, enabling developers, researchers, and enterprises to compose and customize silicon without IP licenses or NDAs. Customers access RTL, reference designs, simulation tooling, the Erbium browser-based topology editor, and real chips.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- AI Foundry: Open-source platform for democratizing AI hardware development through modular, community-driven silicon and tooling
- CORE-ET Silicon Platform (ETSP)
- iRAM
- Erbium
Products and services
- ET-SoC-1 Many-core RISC-V AI inference chip with 1,088 RISC-V cores supporting RV64 and RV32 architectures, 1,150+ instructions, 380 CSRs, 145 extensions, and the ET-Minion profile. Designed for energy-efficient edge AI inference in factories, robotics, drones, and intelligent devices.
- iRAM Non-volatile MRAM-based intelligent memory technology integrated into Ainekko's silicon platform. Reduces die space by approximately 25% compared to SRAM and combines a low-power AI accelerator with memory technology.
- AI Foundry Platform Open-source platform bringing Do-Ocracy principles to AI hardware development. Provides modular, community-driven silicon and tooling for developers, researchers, and enterprises, supporting applications from edge devices to data centers. Accessible via aifoundry.org.
- Erbium Topology Editor Browser-based multi-chip system design tool that lets users sketch systems, drag chips, wire QSPI/xSPI/GPIO connections, validate connections, and export YAML that drives real Erbium emulator runs. Pre-loaded with a 4-chip ring topology.
- CORE-ET Silicon Platform (ETSP) Many-core 64-bit RISC-V processor architecture with MRAM-based memory, designed for energy-efficient AI inference at the edge in factories, robotics, drones, and intelligent devices. Taped out on 16nm TSMC node and released under the OpenHW Foundation under Solderpad Hardware License v2.1.
Quantifiable outcome
- Die space reduced by approximately 25% compared to SRAM using iRAM MRAM technology
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Ainekko
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Ainekko technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
Ainekko partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- RISC-V Summit Europe 2026minorAinekko and OpenHW Foundation presenting CORE-ET Silicon Platform at RISC-V Summit Europe 2026 in Bologna, Italy from June 8-12, 2026.
- OpenHW Foundation (Eclipse Foundation)coreAinekko's CORE-ET Silicon Platform (ETSP) accepted as a project within OpenHW Foundation, an initiative under Eclipse Foundation dedicated to open-source semiconductor IP. Platform combines many-core 64-bit RISC-V processor architecture with MRAM-based memory for energy-efficient edge AI. Project developed under neutral governance and released under Solderpad Hardware License v2.1.
- VeevxcoreMerger combining Veevx's iRAM non-volatile memory technology and AI accelerator with Ainekko's existing RISC-V compute cores from Esperanto acquisition. Veevx co-founder Douglas Smith (former Broadcom IP engineer) joins Ainekko's executive team. Combined company aims to build open-source platform for AI design agents.
- Esperanto TechnologiescoreAinekko acquired all intellectual property and select assets from Esperanto Technologies including chip designs, software tooling, and development frameworks. The acquisition includes one of the world's most energy-efficient AI architectures, now being open-sourced through the AI Foundry platform.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ainekko competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Esperanto Technologies: Developer of energy-efficient many-core RISC-V AI inference silicon. Ainekko acquired Esperanto's IP and select assets in November 2025, making this the closest technical precedent and origin of core technology.
- Tenstorrent: RISC-V-based AI accelerator company building compute substrates for training and inference. Competes in the same edge and data center AI inference market with a similar open-architecture ethos led by Jim Keller.
- SiFive: Leading commercial provider of RISC-V processor IP and cores. Comparable in deploying RISC-V architecture commercially for AI and general-purpose compute, though focused more on IP licensing than finished silicon.
- Groq: AI inference silicon company with LPU architecture focused on low-latency, high-throughput inference. Direct overlap in targeting AI inference workloads with custom silicon.
- SambaNova Systems: AI accelerator startup offering RDU-based silicon for enterprise AI training and inference. Competes for the same enterprise AI infrastructure dollars.
Emerging players
- Rivos: RISC-V-based server chip startup targeting data center and AI workloads. Overlaps with Ainekko's RISC-V + AI compute thesis at the data-center end of the spectrum.
- Etched: AI inference silicon startup focused on transformer-specific ASICs. Overlaps with Ainekko in the AI inference silicon market but with a transformer-specific approach.
Broad incumbents
- Cerebras Systems: AI accelerator company with wafer-scale compute for training and inference. Competes for the same AI silicon budget at hyperscalers and large enterprises.
- NVIDIA: Dominant incumbent in AI training and inference silicon via GPUs and the CUDA ecosystem. Ainekko's open-substrate thesis is partly a reaction to NVIDIA's walled-garden approach.
Others
- RISC-V International: Non-profit standards body governing the RISC-V ISA. Relevant ecosystem enabler whose specifications underpin Ainekko's architecture, though not a commercial competitor.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Ainekko social profiles
Digital presenceAinekko financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ainekko leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Ainekko funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ainekko M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ainekko
What does Ainekko do?
Ainekko builds composable open-source silicon for edge AI inference, combining many-core 64-bit RISC-V compute (ET-SoC-1 with 1,088 cores), MRAM-based iRAM memory, and an open software stack. The platform is delivered through AI Foundry (aifoundry.org) and the OpenHW Foundation under Eclipse Foundation, enabling developers, researchers, and enterprises to compose and customize silicon without IP licenses or NDAs. Customers access RTL, reference designs, simulation tooling, the Erbium browser-based topology editor, and real chips.
Is Ainekko a public or private company?
Ainekko is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Ainekko founded?
Ainekko was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Ainekko based?
Ainekko is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ainekko make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Open-source silicon platform and licensing is the primary driver. The others are hardware and development tools.
Who are Ainekko's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Esperanto Technologies, Tenstorrent, SiFive, Groq and SambaNova Systems. Emerging players are Rivos and Etched. Broad incumbents are Cerebras Systems and NVIDIA. RISC-V International is listed as an others.
Does Ainekko have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ainekko.
What industry is Ainekko in?
Ainekko's product category is Open-Source Edge AI Silicon. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHABAC, Compute & Acceleration ICs (CPU/GPU/AI/FPGA/ASIC), with a secondary code of HDAAAJAC, Edge AI Hardware & NPUs (SoCs, modules, accelerators). Its NAICS code is 3344 and its SIC code is 3674.