Meet NVISION

NVISION, based in Barcelona, is specialised in edge AI, IoT, and advanced computing systems. It has collaborated with INESC TEC within the EU Horizon Europe project A-IQ Ready (2022–2023), a large consortium focused on advancing edge AI through quantum sensing, RISC-V architectures, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) acceleration. 

We spoke with Oxana Evseeva, Edge AI Product, and Gonzalo Salinas, Edge & Computing Unit Manager, at NVISION. 

What is the history of collaboration between NVISION and INESC TEC?  

NVISION and INESC TEC started their collaboration in 2023 within the A-IQ Ready project, a major European initiative involving 50 partners from 15 countries. The project aimed to develop cutting-edge solutions for industries, leveraging  AI acceleration at the edge, quantum sensors, and IoT. Since then, we have maintained monthly technical coordination to create a hybrid computing platform that seamlessly integrates diverse AI accelerators. Both organisations have worked closely together on combining the hardware and software efforts. INESC TEC created an innovative tool that automatically adds the necessary software instructions, making it easy and seamless to use the advanced accelerators developed by NVISION. 

Under the A-IQ Ready project, what were the main challenges and lessons learned from working within a large European research and innovation network? 

A-IQ Ready stands out as one of our most impactful projects, combining cutting-edge research with real-world industrial applications. 

The project enabled us to develop complex technologies and learn from how different partners approach their use cases. This collaboration offered a rare opportunity to witness how innovation emerges, engage directly with the engineering teams on technical challenges, and integrate diverse technologies into cohesive demonstrators. 

Key achievements included identifying high-value industrial applications for our AI accelerators across energy, automotive, digital health, and industrial sectors. In-person meetings, such as general assemblies and technical workshops, were essential for accelerating progress, sparking creative solutions, and building strong consortium relationships. 

NVISION played a key role in the development of the Hybrid Computing platform and AI accelerators (INTERA Cognit Falcon AI Accelerator), built AI models for the in-cabin driver monitoring system, which fuses multiple health indicators with visual data to detect driver fatigue and enhance automotive safety. 

What impact do you believe efficient edge-AI hardware will have on your target markets in the coming years? 

Efficient edge-AI hardware will transform industries over the next decade by enabling local data processing at the source. This makes every IoT device and camera smart and independent from cloud infrastructure, addressing the exponential growth of connected devices and data generation in the world. 

Our ultra-low-power accelerators deliver energy efficiency, cost savings, low latency, and privacy that real-time applications demand. As we continue improving hardware performance, AI model optimisation, and cloud-edge integration, we also keep reducing the hardware cost, in order to push edge AI adoption to become mainstream across energy, automotive, industrial automation, and digital health sectors. 

How do you rate your experience with INESC TEC? 

Our experience with INESC TEC was outstanding. Their team combines exceptional engineering expertise with remarkable human qualities: active listening, solution-oriented mindset, effective meeting facilitation, deadline commitment, clear communication, and genuine responsiveness. 

INESC TEC hosted an important technical workshop and the final General Assembly in Porto with professionalism and care, creating an environment where the entire consortium could collaborate efficiently toward shared project goals. 

What do you value most in this collaboration?

Above all, we value INESC TEC’s world-class engineering talent, state-of-the-art laboratories, and—most importantly—their exceptional human qualities, open communication, and genuine willingness to collaborate. We felt like true partners pursuing common goals, with every team member fully committed to delivering results. 

What can we expect from NVISION over the upcoming years? 

NVISION is advancing R&D in digital health, energy, industry, edge AI acceleration, and advanced ASIC design (digital, analogue and neuromorphic). Key initiatives include: 

• Launching our NVISION Academy to establish industry leadership and nurture next-generation talent in the areas of AI acceleration on edge and Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) design; 

• Commercialising our AI accelerator portfolio (INTERA Cognit Falcon, INTERA Cognit Swallow AI Accelerators on Edge, upcoming IP) with production-ready SDKs and demonstrators; 

• Delivering generic and customised edge AI solutions for European SMEs and supporting large OEMs with outsourced ASIC development; 

• Leveraging our position within INTERA Group to provide end-to-end semiconductor innovation, from IP development to full-system integration.