Nordic unveils nRF71 chips with Wi-Fi, Thread and edge AI
The nRF71 series cuts standby power by up to 20 times versus Nordic's nRF70 Wi-Fi products and adds an Axon NPU for on-chip machine learning.
Nordic Semiconductor has announced the nRF71 series, an ultra-low-power SoC family that combines Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread and edge AI on a single chip. According to datanet.co.kr, the series reduces standby power consumption by up to 20 times compared with the company's existing nRF70 series Wi-Fi products.
The family includes an Axon neural processing unit. Nordic says the NPU delivers 10 to 17 times faster performance than running machine learning models on the 256MHz Arm Cortex-M33 processor alone. Developers can run tiny AI models built with their own data using the company's Neuton software.
Two chips at launch
The first SoCs in the series are the nRF7120, which supports dual-band Wi-Fi 6, and the nRF7120E, which adds tri-band Wi-Fi 6E and the Axon NPU. Both offer 4MB of on-chip non-volatile memory and 1MB of user-accessible RAM.
Nordic plans to showcase the nRF71 series, including Nordic-branded modules, at electronica 2026 in Munich, Germany.
Quick answers
What is the nRF71 series?
It is Nordic Semiconductor's ultra-low-power SoC family that integrates Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread and edge AI on a single chip.
How much does the nRF71 reduce standby power?
Up to 20 times compared with the existing nRF70 series Wi-Fi products, according to Nordic.
Where can I see the nRF71 series?
Nordic plans to showcase the series, including Nordic-branded modules, at electronica 2026 in Munich, Germany.