Aspinity, the five year-old Pittsburgh analogue AI processor startup, has raised $5.3 million in Series A funding backed byby Anzu Partners, Amazon’s Alexa Fund, Birchmere Ventures, Mountain State Capital and Riverfront Ventures.

 Aspinity’s machine learning processor is enabled by proprietary analogue circuit technologies and aims to dramatically improve battery life in smart electronic devices that are always on and always sensing the environment for acoustic, vibrational, or other ambient triggers.

These devices are continuously consuming power while waiting for triggers such as voice to wake-up a voice-controlled TV remote or wireless earbuds, the sound of glass breaking to activate a smart home security system, or a change in vibrational frequency to provide early warning of equipment malfunction on the factory floor.

“Aspinity’s mission is to help system designers solve a major pain point that users face on a daily basis — the necessity of recharging or replacing batteries way too frequently in their always-listening devices,” says Tom Doyle, founder and CEO, Aspinity, “0ur new investment will allow us to speed deployment of our first neuromorphic analog-processing chip, which completely changes the way that incoming sensor data are handled. Instead of a system that immediately digitizes all data for further analysis, our chip uses near-zero power to analyze the sensor data while it is still in its native analog format, only waking the digital system when important data are detected. This makes our architecture a game-changer for manufacturers who want to make smart always-on devices with batteries that last up to 10 times longer. Just imagine wireless earbuds that last for months instead of a day on a single charge or a voice-activated TV remote that runs for years without battery replacement.”

The new funding is intended to accelerate Aspinity’s product roadmap, enhance the technical and partner support teams, and scale volume production to meet customer demand.