Also called an "intelligent processing unit" (IPU), a neural processing unit (NPU) is a GPU chip designed to accelerate the execution of neural networks, the architecture of AI models. The NPU accelerates tensor processing such as matrix multiplication.
In 2016, Qualcomm introduced its Zeroth Machine Intelligence Platform and Snapdragon Neural Processing Engine that enable mobile devices to execute AI applications on their own rather than going to the cloud. See
TensorFlow,
neural network and
neuromorphic computing.