随着 AI 产业进入迸发阶段，在炬芯科技 “Actions Intelligence” 端侧AI战略推动下，其端侧 AI 芯片产品已成为行业率先落地的标杆，并加速在全球品牌多品类终端产品中的落地应用。而炬芯科技这条始于音频，历经无线化、AI 化的品牌道路，在获得央视镜头聚焦后，再次吸引了全球技术媒体集团的目光。国际知名技术媒体 EE Times 海外发表了炬芯科技这段全球品牌进化史的专题报道，向全球专业人士全方位展现了一家低功耗 AIoT 芯片设计企业如何用技术创新始终引领行业发展成为行业细分龙头，解密炬芯科技如何穿越时间周期赢得众多国际知名品牌青睐。

来自权威媒体的价值印证

正如 EE Times 在深度观察中所展现的，对于全球品牌客户而言，炬芯科技正在交付一个极具吸引力且难以被复制的行业价值主张。

 

无论终端市场对声音的追求走向何方——是更纯粹的音质、更极致的超低延迟无线性能，还是颠覆体验的创新AI功能，炬芯科技作为已经重新定义当下端侧AI音频芯片能力边界的中国芯片设计企业，都将是全球品牌在下一代体验变革中，值得高度信赖与同行的重磅合作伙伴。

 

以下为原文内容分享

As someone born in the 1980s, I lived through the peak of the MP3 era, just like many of my peers. We bought Bluetooth speakers, TWS earbuds, and every kind of wireless audio device that followed. But aside from Intel Inside's unforgettable "da-da-da-da", few of us ever stopped to think about the chips powering the devices in our hands. It was really the smartphone era that brought chip suppliers into the public spotlight. Qualcomm became widely recognized as the leader in mobile chips, while NVIDIA came to dominate AI computing power in the cloud.

But in the more specialized world of smart audio and low-power AIoT("Artificial Intelligence of Things"), there is another name people still may not know: Actions Technology. Headquartered in Zhuhai, China, this IC design company provides core technological support for hundreds of millions of consumer audio devices worldwide. According to supply chain teardown data, chips from Actions Technology have already appeared in flagship products from three of the world’s leading consumer audio brands.

For global brands with exacting standards for semiconductor partners, decisions like that are never accidental. So why have they chosen Actions Technology? If you work in consumer audio, audio engineering, or simply care about where audio technology is heading, here’s why Actions Technology is a company worth watching.

Exterior view of Actions Technology's headquarters campus in Zhuhai, China

 

Starting with self-developed MP3 SoC

Actions Technology has more than 20 years of expertise in audio technology, but its story begins with its predecessor--Actions Semiconductor. The company was founded in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, in 2001, at a time when digital multimedia was just emerging. In October of the same year, Apple launched the first-generation iPod, creating an entirely new category of hard-drive-based MP3 players.

 

Around that time, Actions Semiconductor pioneered a highly integrated, low-power audio SoC solution—the first independently developed MP3 SoC by a Chinese chip design company.  This significantly lowered the barrier to entry for the MP3 industry. Manufacturers quickly launched a wave of hit products, helping drive the popularization of digital music in China and ushering Actions Semiconductor into its golden age of development. By around 2005, Actions Semiconductor had become the market leader in MP3 SoCs, holding over 50% of the global non-Apple market share. It also became the second Chinese semiconductor company to list on Nasdaq.

 

Such glory represented far more than market share. More importantly, Actions established its initial complete IP system for full-link audio technology during this period--covering analog audio interfaces (such as ADC and DAC), audio DSP processing capabilities (including pre-processing and post-processing algorithms), and audio codecs (supporting high-quality, full-format encoding and decoding). Meanwhile, through the large-scale delivery of products, Actions began to accumulate experience in audio system tuning and develop a professional sense of sonic aesthetics.

 

Self-developed Bluetooth protocol stack for high-fidelity wireless audio

Around 2014, the Internet of Things ("IoT") wave swept across the globe, and the shift from wired to wireless became increasingly clear. Even so, achieving wired-quality audio over wireless transmission remained a persistent industry challenge. Actions Technology was founded around this time, beginning to focus on the R&D, design, and sales of wireless audio SoC chips.

 

During that period, most design companies chose to license mature third-party wireless protocol stacks (including software and hardware IP), which was a proven and low-risk approach. Actions Technology, however, chose a more difficult path. Carrying forward the commitment to independent R&D inherited from Actions Semiconductor, it made a strategic decision to independently develop its Bluetooth protocol stack from the ground up. The goal was never just to add Bluetooth as a feature. More importantly, it was to develop a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms of the Bluetooth protocol, so the company could innovate more efficiently in both the technologies and applications behind wireless audio products.

 

Actions Technology first moved quickly in standard Bluetooth, treating high-fidelity audio as a core benchmark for the evolution of audio technology. It took the lead in introducing dual-mode Bluetooth speaker solutions with app-based control. Later, to keep pushing the boundaries of the branded Bluetooth speaker experience, Actions Technology continued to closely track the evolution of Bluetooth standards. It not only became an important early market participant in LE Audio--obtained Bluetooth V5.3 certification early in the industry, but was also among the earlier players to bring new-generation Bluetooth audio features, including Auracast™ broadcast audio, into mass production for device brands. Today, Actions Technology has achieved large-scale shipments in branded Bluetooth speakers, party speakers, and related products, with market penetration among the industry’s leading players.

 

For wireless audio scenarios that demand ultra-low latency, Actions Technology developed NGPP-2.4G, a proprietary 2.4G protocol designed specifically for low-latency audio transmission. Through full-stack optimization across the physical layer, protocol layer, and audio processing layer, the company has reduced end-to-end latency to just 9 milliseconds while preserving full-link 48KHz@32bit high-fidelity audio. How fast is 9 milliseconds? TWS earbuds based on Classic Bluetooth audio protocols typically deliver end-to-end latency of 100-300 milliseconds, while  those supporting LE Audio generally range from 30 to 70 milliseconds. The 9-millisecond ultra-low latency enabled by Actions Technology’s NGPP-2.4G technology far outperforms LE Audio and Classic Bluetooth solutions, with latency kept well below the perceptual threshold of most listeners, making wireless audio truly on par with wired performance.

 

As a result, beyond being the preferred choice of three major global consumer audio brands, Actions Technology has further solidified its position as a core partner for numerous top-tier brands in premium microphones, action cameras, and high-end gaming peripherals.

 

By combining standard Bluetooth with proprietary 2.4G technology, Actions Technology has built a dual-track technology strategy in the wireless audio era. This gives device brands the flexibility to choose either an open ecosystem or a proprietary protocol, while still delivering a consistently high-quality audio experience to end users. In 2021, Actions Technology was listed on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This strategy, rooted in independent development from the outset, has earned broad market recognition.

 

Innovate edge AI chip architecture, breaking energy efficiency limits for battery-powered devices

Today, AI stands at the forefront of a new wave of technological transformation. Bringing AI to the edge to reduce the latency and power consumption caused by sending data back and forth to the cloud has become a common goal for nearly all end devices, especially battery-powered IoT products.

 

Dr. Zhou Zhenyu, Chairman and CEO of Actions Technology, first publicly introduced the Actions Intelligence edge AI strategy at the 2024 Global CEO Summit.

Actions Technology distinguishes itself from standard edge AI solutions by employing a CPU + DSP + NPU tri-core architecture, and the NPU utilizes Actions’ self-developed Mixed-Mode SRAM-based CIM (Computing-in-Memory) technology (referred to as MMSCIM; for more details, please click "Learn More"). This NPU architecture combines storage and processing components with on-chip memory in a tightly integrated manner. By enabling data to be processed right where it is stored, it reduces the need for frequent data transfers, resulting in improved energy efficiency and minimized performance bottlenecks.

 

According to Actions Technology's disclosed GEN1 MMSCIM energy efficiency test results, compared to a HiFi5 DSP, the MMSCIM NPU reduces power consumption by 76%-98% and achieves tens of times higher energy efficiency. When running specific operator models, it also delivers over 16 times the AI computing performance. Leveraging these exceptional results, Actions Technology’s NPU is shifting from niche accelerators into robust, high-performance components within SoCs that support advanced generative AI workloads.

In a traditional von Neumann architecture, storage and computation are separated. The result is high power consumption, high latency, and a low energy efficiency ratio because data has to be moved back and forth constantly. Computing-in-memory, by contrast, combines storage and computation, removing that bottleneck at the source and making it well suited to the low-power, real-time inference demands of edge AI.

According to public information, powered by MMSCIM technology, the energy efficiency ratio of Actions Technology’s first-generation edge AI audio chip family (including the ATS323X, ATS362X, and ATW609X series) can reach 6.4–19.2 TOPS/W@INT8, representing a 10-to-30-fold improvement over the traditional von Neumann architecture.

 

What does “high energy-efficient edge AI computing power” mean for practical applications?

 

For device manufacturers, it enables real-time bigger model based AI features such as stem separation and accompaniment extraction, noise cancellation, and audio enhancement at a current draw of just 1 to 2 mA. This has nearly no impact on device battery life, making products more specification-leading and competitive. For end users, it means party speakers that support real-time vocal removal for KTV scenarios, gaming headsets with immersive spatial audio, and smart wearables that can process voice commands and more sensor-based health monitoring locally without relying on the cloud.

Actions Technology’s edge AI chip, ATS362X, received ASPENCORE’s 2026 China IC Design Awards in the SoC/ASIC category

"Customers do not buy specs. They buy real experience," a senior executive of Actions Technology stated publicly, "Perceivable value is the key to driving adoption." Today, the company’s edge AI audio chips have taken the lead in powering products from many international brands. They are being rolled out across a range of high-growth segments, including premium speakers, party speakers, wireless microphones, wireless gaming headsets, and desktop microphones. From professional creation to audio-visual entertainment, Actions is bringing AI audio experiences into daily life for users around the world.

 

Why do top global brands choose Actions Technology?

From MP3 players to wireless audio devices and now edge AI-enabled products, Actions Technology has consistently focused on enhancing the audio product experience through technology innovation.

 

Over the years, the company’s SoCs have been widely adopted by leading global brands. That comes down to a few key strengths.

 

Firstly, Actions Technology has developed long-standing expertise in audio processing, wireless connectivity, and edge AI. Based on three core technology foundations—self-developed full-link audio technology, low-latency high-fidelity wireless audio transmission technology, and low-power high-energy-efficiency edge AI technology—Actions Technology has built a unique technological barrier in the audio chip industry. Moreover, the company has also built its patent portfolio in key markets, including China, the United States, and Europe, strengthening compliance and trust for its global expansion and international cooperation.

 

Secondly, the audio industry is, by nature, a convergence of electronics and sound. Even with world-class technical specifications, how people perceive sound and experience audio quality involves subtleties that numbers alone cannot fully capture. Actions Technology understands this dual nature of audio as both a technology-driven and human-centered field. It has not only delivered strong performance across the full audio chain, including audio ADC/DAC, ASRC, and audio algorithms, but also moved early in the industry to build a dedicated listening panel, conducted subjective audio quality evaluation training, and obtained professional “Golden Ear” listening panel certification. The company has also established high-standard acoustic laboratories, including the anechoic chamber, reverberation chamber, and listening room that have been tested and certified by the National Institute of Metrology, China. This has enabled the company to deeply integrate objective acoustic testing with subjective listening-based tuning. Its long-accumulated electroacoustic tuning expertise and mature sonic aesthetics have become a core competitive advantage that is difficult to replicate.

Actions Technology's acoustic laboratory includes an anechoic chamber, a reverberation chamber, and a listening room used for headphone, speaker, and smartwatch call testing, audio effects testing, noise reduction testing for headphones and wireless microphones, and speaker listening research. (Image source: Actions Technology)

Thirdly, with over 20 years of proven experience in the audio industry, Actions Technology has developed into a co-creation partner for products of leading global brands, especially in the field of high-end Bluetooth speakers. More specifically, to meet the complex demands of top speaker brands in areas such as sound quality, connection stability, energy consumption control, and AI audio processing, Actions Technology provides deep, custom support covering both chip architecture and upper-layer algorithms, helping drive generation-by-generation improvements in the key performance areas of end devices. This co-creation model, which starts at the chip definition stage, is another reason leading brands choose Actions Technology.

 

Of course, beyond technology leadership and close collaboration, Actions Technology also stands out for its reliability in quality and delivery. The company has invested heavily in its quality system. From reliability-driven design and comprehensive testing protocols to manufacturing partnerships that ensure consistent output, its quality standards are highly consistent and strictly enforced. In addition, amid growing volatility in global supply chains, Actions Technology has become a trusted partner for global brands thanks to its well-established foundry relationships and reliable delivery record.

 

These strengths have enabled Actions Technology's continuous expansion in global markets.

 

At present, Actions Technology’s ATS323X, ATS362X, and ATW609X series edge AI audio chips have each achieved breakthrough commercial progress in their respective segments. The ATS362X series has been successfully adopted by multiple leading international consumer audio electronics brands, powering their 2026 AI party speakers. Its AI vocal removal function enables a professional-grade KTV accompaniment experience, making the products well-suited to both home entertainment and outdoor party scenarios. The ATS323X series has been adopted in flagship wireless microphones and wireless gaming headsets launched by brand customers. With AI NPU noise reduction technology, these products have quickly gained market traction. The ATW609X series is also supporting multiple brand customers in the development of AI glasses, AI note-taking cards, and other products, with end products to be launched progressively.

 

Meanwhile, Actions Technology is steadily advancing the development of its second-generation CIM IP. The new IP is designed to deliver a multi-fold increase in single-core NPU computing power, significantly improve the energy efficiency ratio, and provide full support for Transformer models. It is expected to become a powerful driver of the next generation of edge AI audio experiences.

 

Conclusion: A Valuable Partner Worth Knowing

For manufacturers of battery-powered audio devices, Actions Technology offers a compelling value proposition: proven expertise in audio and wireless technologies, edge AI capabilities without compromising battery life, and a partnership approach shaped through collaboration with world-leading brands.

 

Anyway, whether the priority is better sound quality, superior wireless performance, or innovative AI features that users can genuinely experience, Actions Technology has the capabilities to deliver. Perhaps we can discuss Actions Technology’s product solutions at a later time--would that interest you?

 

Learn more：

“Edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) Game Changer: Actions Technology Is Redefining the Future of Audio Chips”

https://www.eetimes.com/edge-artificial-intelligence-ai-game-changer-actions-technology-is-redefining-the-future-of-audio-chips/