The Next Era of Intelligent Edge Devices I Edge of Tomorrow: The Edge AI Debate I

The next era of intelligent edge devices is taking shape - but what’s driving real-world deployment, and how are hardware and software evolving to keep pace with such a fast-moving ecosystem? Welcome to Edge of Tomorrow – The Edge AI Debate, our spin-off series from The IoT Podcast, created in collaboration with the EDGE AI FOUNDATION. This series brings together leading voices from across the Edge AI ecosystem to debate the toughest questions shaping its future.   In this episode, host Pete Bernard (CEO, EDGE AI FOUNDATION) is joined by Scott Hanson (Founder & CTO at Ambiq) to explore how ultra-low power compute is enabling the next generation of intelligent edge devices. Starting with the journey from research to commercialisation, the conversation traces how advances in low-power processor design have evolved into technologies now powering hundreds of millions of devices. It then moves into the realities of building for edge AI today, from balancing long hardware development cycles with rapid AI innovation, to the growing role of software in bridging that gap. The discussion dives into where edge AI is already delivering value at scale, including wearables, smart home systems, industrial monitoring, and medical devices. It also explores the shift from isolated use cases to widespread adoption, with an increasing number of deployed devices now running some form of intelligence at the edge. This episode offers a grounded perspective on the rise of agentic AI, the relationship between edge and cloud intelligence, and what’s needed to support increasingly complex, real-world systems, exploring where edge AI is today and where it’s heading next. Expect discussion on… The role of ultra-low power compute in scaling Edge AI Hardware vs. software: bridging development cycles Where Edge AI is already delivering value at scale Wearables, smart homes, industrial, and medical use cases The shift from isolated deployments to widespread adoption Edge vs. cloud: where intelligence actually lives The rise of agentic AI and system-level intelligence Chapters… 00:00 Introductions 01:30 The origin of Ambiq and ultra-low power innovation 03:00 Scaling a chip company and market growth 04:00 Hardware vs software development cycles in AI 06:00 Keeping pace with rapid AI innovation 08:30 General-purpose vs specialised architectures 10:45 Moore’s Law and efficiency gains at the edge 13:00 Real-world scale: where edge AI is being deployed 15:30 Wearables, smart homes, and industrial use cases 17:30 Edge AI in everyday life: sensing and inference 19:30 Consumer vs commercial adoption trends 21:30 The rise of “life logging” and contextual data 24:00 Societal and ethical considerations of always-on AI 25:30 Agentic AI and system-level intelligence 27:30 Edge vs cloud: where intelligence actually lives 29:30 Cost, scalability, and moving AI out of the cloud 31:30 Physical AI and robotics opportunities 33:30 Final reflections on the future of edge AI 🎧 The episode is live now on all major podcast platforms Listen here: https://linktr.ee/theiotpodcast What’s your take? Join the debate! About Edge of Tomorrow – The Edge AI Debate Edge of Tomorrow is our dedicated debate series bringing together technologists, researchers, and industry leaders to tackle the most pressing and controversial questions in Edge AI. From privacy and security to ethics, ownership, and governance, this series goes beyond hype to explore what it will take to build Edge AI systems responsibly. Our goal is to surface diverse perspectives, challenge assumptions, and give listeners the context they need to navigate one of the most transformative shifts in modern computing.