Berkeley Design Technology

What Berkeley Design Technology does

Berkeley Design Technology, Inc. (BDTI), founded in 1992 and headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, is an independent consulting and benchmarking firm serving the embedded processing industry. The company specializes in vendor-neutral technical benchmarking for digital signal processing (DSP), computer vision, and deep learning silicon, and provides engineering services in algorithm design, processor selection, and software optimization. BDTI has benchmarked more than 100 processors over its 25-year history and its results are widely cited as the de facto standard for objective DSP and embedded-vision performance comparison.

BDTI's product surface is anchored by eight proprietary benchmark suites covering DSP kernels, video processing, video encode/decode, optical flow, H.264 decode, OFDM and DQPSK receivers, and high-level synthesis tool certification (HLSTCP). It also offers the Technical Analysis and Evaluation service line (competitive analysis, "Strategy Forge" technology strategy consulting, "Product Crucible" product definition, and "Sounding Board" messaging), as well as Algorithm, Software, and Product Engineering services. The firm initiated and continues to lead the Embedded Vision Alliance and the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and organizes the annual Embedded Vision Summit.

BDTI generates revenue through three streams: project-based professional services consulting, per-project benchmark licensing (one-year licenses including documentation, reference implementations, and support), and benchmark certification services required before vendors can publish results. The firm operates a sales-led, direct-engagement go-to-market with confidential inquiries handled via phone and web, and serves two horizontal customer segments: technology vendors (semiconductor companies, IP licensors, tool vendors) and technology users (system designers and product manufacturers). The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors; Jeff Bier serves as President.

Name

Berkeley Design Technology

Legal name

Berkeley Design Technology, Inc.

Website

https://bdti.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Berkeley Design Technology is an independent consulting and benchmarking firm that provides vendor-neutral technical analysis, proprietary benchmark suites, and engineering services to semiconductor vendors and embedded system designers working on DSP, computer vision, and deep learning applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Walnut Creek

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Technical Analysis and Evaluation Services: Consulting services including competitive analysis, technology strategy, product definition, messaging and branding, benchmarking analysis, and technology reports. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements.
2. Benchmark Licensing: Licensing of BDTI benchmark specifications to processor vendors and system designers. License provides written documentation, reference implementation, test vectors, and support for one-year period for one processor project.
3. Benchmark Certification: Certification services for verifying benchmark implementations are functional, compliant with specifications, and optimally implemented. Required for vendors to release benchmark results publicly.
4. Algorithm, Software, and Product Engineering: Engineering services including algorithm design, processor selection assistance, software development and optimization, and computer vision and deep learning implementation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BDTI provides independent technical benchmarking and analysis services for embedded processing technology, with specialization in digital signal processing (DSP), computer vision, and deep learning. The company sells proprietary benchmark suites (DSP, video, optical flow, H.264, OFDM, DQPSK) under license and delivers consulting, engineering, and certification services that help processor vendors and system designers make objective technology decisions.

Product overview

Berkeley Design Technology (BDTI) is a consulting and benchmarking firm specializing in embedded processing technology. Their core offerings center on industry-recognized benchmark products including the BDTI DSP Kernel Benchmarks™ (measuring processor performance on 12 DSP algorithm kernels), BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks™ (six video processing benchmarks), BDTI Video Encoder/Decoder Benchmarks™, BDTI Optical Flow Benchmark™, BDTI H.264 Decoder Benchmark™, BDTI OFDM Receiver Benchmark™, and BDTI DQPSK Receiver Benchmark™. They also offer the High-Level Synthesis Tool Certification Program (HLSTCP). Complementing these benchmarking products are consulting services covering technical analysis and evaluation (competitive analysis, technology strategy, product definition), algorithm/software/product engineering (algorithm design, processor selection, software optimization, computer vision and deep learning), and benchmarking services for processor vendors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BDTI DSP Kernel Benchmarks The industry's first and only independent benchmarks for digital signal processing, measuring processor performance on 12 key DSP algorithm kernels including FIR filters, Viterbi decoder, and FFT. Licensed to processor vendors and system designers.
• BDTI Video Kernel Benchmarks A suite of six small video-oriented benchmarks designed to characterize processor video performance including deblocking filter, 8x8 inverse DCT, 4x4 inverse integer transform, motion compensation, motion estimation, and image resize.
• BDTI Video Encoder and Decoder Benchmarks Benchmarks for assessing general video encoder/decoder performance using representative computations for mobile, home, and surveillance applications.
• BDTI Optical Flow Benchmark Measures performance on demanding video processing for video surveillance, driver assistance, and mil-aero applications, determining apparent motion in visual scenes.
• BDTI H.264 Decoder Benchmark Provides apples-to-apples comparison of hardware-software H.264 decoding solutions via standard test streams, metrics, and operating points.
• BDTI OFDM Receiver Benchmark Multichannel benchmark for evaluating multicore, massively parallel, and other high-performance processing engines for broadband communications applications based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing receiver.
• BDTI DQPSK Receiver Benchmark A wireless communications receiver baseband benchmark suitable for implementation on processors and FPGAs, measuring performance on DQPSK modulation tasks including matched filter, carrier recovery, timing recovery, Viterbi decoder, and deframer modules.
• High-Level Synthesis Tool Certification Program (HLSTCP) A methodology to demonstrate the design productivity of high-level synthesis tools, evaluating quality of results and usability for FPGA design and DSP processors.
• Technical Analysis and Evaluation Services Comprehensive technical analysis including competitive analysis, technology strategy consulting ('Strategy Forge'), product definition/design review ('Product Crucible'), and messaging and branding ('Sounding Board') for technology vendors and system designers.
• Algorithm, Software, and Product Engineering Services Engineering services including algorithm design, processor selection assistance, software development and optimization, and computer vision and deep learning implementation services for embedded processing applications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processor vendors have used BDTI benchmarks to save millions by identifying design issues before tape-out
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Embedded Vision AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 May 2011Industry association formed by BDTI to help embedded system designers harness computer vision in their products. The Alliance includes technology vendors and system designers working together to accelerate the adoption of computer vision in products. BDTI initiated the partnership and continues to play a leadership role in organizing the Embedded Vision Summit and providing resources for the community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cadence Design Systems: Cadence provides EDA tools, IP, and embedded design services to semiconductor and system companies. While much broader than BDTI, it offers adjacent embedded processor design and benchmarking capabilities via its Tensilica IP and verification portfolios.
• Synopsys: Synopsys is a leading EDA and semiconductor IP vendor (ARC processors, Synphony HLS). It interacts with BDTI as both a benchmark licensee (ARC H.264 certification) and an adjacent provider of design/benchmark tooling.

Direct peers

• Jon Peddie Research: Jon Peddie Research is an independent technology analyst firm covering GPUs, embedded processors, and computer vision markets. It competes for the same consulting/subscription research dollars BDTI receives from semiconductor and system clients.
• EEMBC (Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium): EEMBC develops industry-standard embedded processor benchmarks (CoreMark, ULPBench) and certifies implementations. It is the closest open-standard analogue to BDTI's DSP/Video Kernel Benchmarks and competes for the same vendor mindshare.
• Forward Concepts: Forward Concepts is a semiconductor and wireless market research consultancy producing competitive analyses and forecasts. Its DSP and wireless processor coverage overlaps directly with BDTI's Technology Users and Technology Vendors segments.
• TechInsights (formerly Chipworks / Linley Group): TechInsights is a semiconductor and processor intelligence firm producing independent technical analysis, teardowns, and benchmark-style reports. Following the Linley Group acquisition, it directly competes with BDTI's microprocessor analysis and reports business.

Others

• Imagination Technologies: Imagination Technologies licenses PowerVR GPU and AI accelerator IP. It is a frequent BDTI benchmark customer/partner and an ecosystem peer in the embedded vision/AI silicon IP market BDTI serves.
• Arm Holdings: Arm is the dominant embedded processor IP vendor and an established BDTI benchmark customer (Cortex-A8 BDTImark2000 certified). It is an ecosystem participant that shapes and consumes the benchmarks BDTI produces.

Regional players

• AnandTech (Tom's Hardware / Future plc properties): AnandTech historically published independent processor benchmarks and analyses; though discontinued in 2024, the Tom's Hardware platform it merged into remains a consumer-focused benchmark outlet with partial overlap to BDTI's independent testing ethos.

Emerging players

• MLCommons (MLPerf): MLCommons operates the MLPerf benchmark suite for ML training and inference performance, including MLPerf Mobile/Tiny targeting edge. It is an emerging standards body competing for benchmarking authority in the same chip-selection workflows BDTI serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bdti
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bdti

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Berkeley Design Technology