November 15, 2007 -- Ambric, Inc. announced that it is now delivering the Am2045B, which offers higher performance and lower power than its predecessor, the Am2045A. The Am2045B is the newest in the Ambric Am2000 family of highly scalable, massively parallel processor arrays (MPPAs) using Ambric’s structured object programming model (SOPM) tools to make massively parallel software development practical for complex embedded systems.

Higher performance is achieved through improved connectivity, faster execution, and increased on-chip memory, while maintaining compatibility with the Am2045A device. The on-chip interconnect bandwidth is improved by more than 40% and channel connectivity available for chip-to-chip communication is improved by 8X. This enables designers to build high-end applications that require multiple teraOPS of processing across multiple Am2045B devices. The device now runs up to 350MHz and provides an industry-leading 1.20 TeraOPS of processing power. This increased speed is what is needed for high-end applications and underlies the better price-performance of the Am2045B.

Improved ease of programming, another key benefit, is provided by a 60% increase in on-chip memory and improved connectivity. Together they make it easier to create reusable software objects and route them across the MPPA. The Am2045B uses Ambric’s SOPM tools and maintains software compatibility with the full Am2000 family.

Reduced power is yet another key benefit. The new device has reduced power consumption by 40%. Power usage is down to between 6W and 12W depending on the processing needs of the application. This allows the device to meet the power requirements of a much wider class of applications, including portable systems.

The new Ambric device can accommodate applications that are in the mid-range with tight power budgets all the way to high-end, computationally intensive requirements in markets such as image, signal, and video processing, wireless radio, and network security. Companies can now adopt the Am2000 family across their full product line giving them a scalable, high performance software programmable solution.

Pricing and Availability

The new high-end Am2045B device features 336 32-bit processors. Pricing for the Am2045B device is $325 in quantities of 1,000 units. The Am2000 family of devices is also available with 216 or 120 processors. Pricing for the Ambric Am2000 family starts at $89 for the 120-processor version device in quantities of 1,000 units.