Pinea Pi to launch first edge AI node

**Pinea Pi Announces Kickstarter Launch of First Edge‑AI Node**

*Derbyshire, England – Late September 2024* – Pinea Pi, a hardware company that describes itself as “AI‑native,” said it will open a Kickstarter campaign in late September to fund its first edge‑AI node. The campaign is scheduled to run through late October, with early‑supporter reservations opening in late August. Prospective backers can secure a unit by paying a £22 deposit.

The company markets the device as a personal AI node that sits on a desk and performs all processing locally, eliminating the need for cloud services or subscription fees. According to Pinea Pi, the hardware “never sends data off‑device,” allowing it to operate offline and maintain user privacy.

Pinea Pi’s promotional materials outline three core capabilities:

* **Multimodal‑Native** – Integrated camera, microphone array, and speakers paired with the MiniCPM edge model family to provide text and visual understanding, full‑duplex interaction, and 48 kHz speech synthesis.
* **Edge‑Native** – All inference runs locally; a privacy‑indicating light ring and an offline switch are intended to signal status and ensure continuous operation without token fees.
* **Hardware Customisation** – The company claims makers can modify hardware behaviour using natural‑language commands, shifting development from code‑centric to intent‑driven workflows.

Two configurations are planned:

* **Pinea Pi Pro** – Equipped with NVIDIA hardware delivering up to 275 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) for robotics and embodied‑intelligence applications.
* **Pinea Pi Lite** – Utilises Intel hardware offering up to 180 TOPS in an all‑metal desktop form factor.

Both models will ship with Ubuntu and a complete edge‑AI software stack. Early‑bird pricing is listed at $1,999 for the Lite version and $2,999 for the Pro version.

The device includes an AI companion named “Piny,” which the company says can recognise its owner by face and voice and maintains a personal memory system that is editable, auditable, and exportable.

Pinea Pi positions the product for makers, AI developers, technology enthusiasts, and independent professionals who “leverage AI in their daily work,” according to the company’s statements. The company asserts that running open‑source models locally could replace “hundreds of dollars of monthly cloud API costs” with a one‑time hardware purchase.

No independent verification of the technical specifications or performance claims has been reported. The Kickstarter campaign will provide further details and allow backers to assess the product upon delivery.

Article and image source: derbyshiretimes.co.uk