Tooling, Frameworks & the Future of Edge AI | Edge of Tomorrow - The Edge AI Debate

Edge AI is evolving quickly - what’s changing in the tooling and frameworks that support it? And where do the biggest opportunities for improvement lie? In this episode of Edge of Tomorrow – The Edge AI Debate, host Pete Bernard (CEO, EDGE AI FOUNDATION) is joined by Elia Schoenberger (Product Marketing, AI Division at Civa) and Nathan Francis (Business Development at AIZip) for an in-depth discussion on the role of tooling and frameworks in shaping the future of Edge AI. While much of the attention in AI is placed on models and hardware, this conversation focuses on the layers in between — compilers, SDKs, deployment pipelines, and frameworks — and how they influence speed, scalability, and collaboration across the ecosystem. The discussion explores how hardware constraints, model design, and tooling choices intersect, whether the industry is moving toward standardisation or continuing to prioritise innovation, and what practical steps could help simplify Edge AI development without slowing progress. This episode offers a look at how the Edge AI stack is evolving - and what it will take to support broader, more efficient deployment in the years ahead. Chapters… 00:00 Introductions 01:40 Why tooling and frameworks matter in Edge AI 03:25 Hardware constraints, models, and deployment realities 05:23 Fragmentation vs fit-for-purpose tooling 07:59 Power, performance, and memory trade-offs 09:18 Where Edge AI sits on the maturity curve 11:32 Standardisation, innovation, and ecosystem balance 13:32 Compilers, MLIR, and unifying the toolchain 16:02 Deployment challenges and quantisation complexity 25:17 Generative models arriving at the edge 31:36 Local-first intelligence and when the cloud still matters 32:52 What would help accelerate Edge AI development 36:13 Final reflections and closing thoughts The episode is live on all major listening platforms now: https://linktr.ee/theiotpodcast Connect with our guests… Elia Schoenberger (CIVA,Inc): https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliashenberger/ Nathan Francis (AIZip): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanfrancis99/ About Edge of Tomorrow – The Edge AI Debate Edge of Tomorrow is our debate-led spin-off series bringing together leaders from across the Edge AI ecosystem to explore the technical, commercial, and strategic decisions shaping how intelligence moves closer to the real world. SUBSCRIBE TO THE IOT PODCAST ON YOUR FAVOURITE LISTENING PLATFORM: https://linktr.ee/theiotpodcast Sign up for exclusive email updates: https://theiotpodcast.com/get-exclusive-access/ Contact us to become a guest or partner: https://theiotpodcast.com/contact/