Arm Flexible Access Brings Armv9 Compute Platform to Lower Barriers and Costs for Edge AI Innovation

Arm Flexible Access Brings Armv9 Compute Platform to Lower Barriers and Costs for Edge AI Innovation

Arm has added the first Armv9 edge AI compute platform to Arm Flexible Access, accelerating IoT and edge AI development.

The platform pairs the energy-efficient Arm Cortex-A320 CPU with the Arm Ethos-U85 NPU to deliver high-performance edge inference.

It supports models with over 1 billion parameters and integrates Armv9 security features such as PAC, BTI, and MTE for on-device protection.

Why this matters for startups and OEMs

Arm Flexible Access lowers technical and cost barriers by offering wide access to Arm CPUs, NPUs, tools, and IP — enabling faster prototyping and iteration.

Eligible startups can access technologies at low or no upfront cost, paying licenses only for technologies used in final designs.

The program has enabled ~400 successful tape-outs and 300+ active members, powering innovations from Raspberry Pi to SiMa.ai and Hailo.

Edge AI performance, efficiency, and security

Combining SVE2 ML acceleration with Ethos-U85's efficiency yields strong throughput for vision, voice, and gesture applications at the edge.

Built-in Armv9 security (PAC, BTI, MTE) helps protect inference and sensitive data on-device, essential for consumer and industrial IoT.

Use cases include smart cameras, wearables, robotics, smart home devices, and industrial automation.

Keywords: Arm Flexible Access, Armv9, Cortex-A320, Ethos-U85, edge AI, IoT, NPU, SVE2, PAC, BTI, MTE.

Get started now to prototype faster and reduce time-to-market.

Learn more about Arm Flexible Access.

Call to action: Explore Armv9 edge AI capabilities and join the ecosystem to accelerate your next product.