Introduction
Bouffalo Lab is a chip design company focused on developing industry-leading technologies in ultra-low power consumption, multi-protocol interconnectivity, and high-performance audio and video edge computing, providing comprehensive AIoT solutions from edge to endpoint for smart homes. The company has successfully mass-produced two generations of AIoT Wi-Fi multi-protocol chips, which are widely used in smart home, new energy, security, industrial, and automotive sectors.
In recent years, the global IoT market has been continuously expanding. According to the GSMA’s report “The Mobile Economy 2025”, the number of IoT connections is expected to exceed 3.85 billion soon, and the rapid development of AI will further activate the market demand potential for smart connected hardware.
Industry Challenges
The rapidly growing market for smart terminals and the simultaneous advancement of multiple communication standard protocols have raised the challenge of how to efficiently manage the coexistence of multi-protocol communication chips while ensuring low power consumption. For example, solving the coexistence issue of multiple smart communication terminals would greatly enhance the user experience in smart homes, ensuring that Wi-Fi high-speed devices do not experience data lag while promptly responding to requests from other smart devices and maintaining stable connectivity.
In addition to the efficient coexistence of multiple protocols, many long standby solutions and low-energy smart devices have an increasing demand for low power consumption. Devices such as smart glasses, smartwatches, smart doorbells and locks, remote BPC security monitoring, door magnetic sensors, child care devices, and smart meters face the core challenge of further energy-saving endurance in the next generation of high-performance chips.
Solutions
1. Multi-Protocol Standard Coexistence Technology
Bouffalo has successfully implemented single-antenna 2.4G or dual-antenna 2.4G/5G 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 1024QAM multi-mode coexistence technology in several product series, including BL606/602/702/808/616/628, and has achieved large-scale mass production. The products cover a wide range of smart endpoint devices and include edge computing gateway applications. The integrated wireless modules in the SoC include communication status and quality statistics, channel awareness, and other functions. Combined with machine learning technology, they can analyze multi-mode wireless operation characteristics in real-time, learn user behavior, and allocate spectrum and time resources efficiently, significantly enhancing the coexistence experience and robustness of traditional multi-mode wireless communication. This allows for high-throughput data transmission over Wi-Fi while maintaining stable and reliable BT/BLE/Zigbee communication. Unlike other competitors that focus on a single track such as BLE or Wi-Fi, or are limited to specific niche applications, Bouffalo has successfully mass-produced different series of multi-mode protocol chips that are widely used on both endpoint and gateway edge sides. This provides a solid market foundation and technical accumulation for Bouffalo’s next-generation fully integrated multi-protocol chips, allowing it to seize opportunities in the increasingly diverse multi-communication protocol landscape of IoT and launch an all-in-one single-chip solution.
2. Deep RF Optimization + Ultra-Low Power SoC Architecture and Software Algorithm Design
The low power consumption of the overall SoC requires comprehensive optimization across key RF IP, SoC architecture, software systems, and algorithms. Through systematic global optimization and innovative circuit segmentation, the RF circuit modules and digital baseband front-end designs have been significantly streamlined, enhancing overall system performance while achieving a reduction in chip area and power consumption by half. Adjustments to the architecture of ultra-low power SoCs and the collaboration with software algorithms further enhance Bouffalo’s competitive edge in low power consumption. The Wi-Fi keep-alive power consumption is more than 50% lower than that of similar chips in the industry, and it is currently replacing other top players’ chips both domestically and internationally. Bouffalo has already supplied large quantities to clients such as Xiaomi, Hikvision, Alibaba, and several top appliance manufacturers, as well as Amazon.
3. Platform-Based Standardization System
Integration of endpoint, edge, and cloud platforms, along with chips, modules, algorithms, and software SDK/tools, enables systematic/platform-based services for customers, facilitating rapid adaptation and product iteration, establishing industry moats and competitive barriers.
User Feedback
Bouffalo’s SDK supports over five OS platforms, including FreeRTOS, Amazon ACK, Xiaomi Vela, AliOS, Media Msmart, and Linux platforms. It has been mass-produced in several leading industry clients, such as Alibaba, Xiaomi, Hikvision, Amazon, Roku, Gree, TCL, Hisense, Aux, Panasonic, Haier, and drone manufacturers. It is gradually replacing international brands like MTK, Marvell, Realtek, and Qualcomm in client devices, assisting clients in achieving domestic alternatives and product iteration upgrades, receiving unanimous praise from customers. Bouffalo has received awards from several leading clients, including being named Xiaomi IoT Best Partner for 2023-2024, Vela Ecosystem Partner, Best Supplier, and Excellent Supplier at the Global Core Supplier Conference, as well as being recognized as an Excellent AIoT Co-Creation Partner by Haier’s San Wing Bird and receiving the Honor Star Partner Award and Huawei Wi-Fi/BLE HarmonyOS S certification.
Economic and Social Benefits
Bouffalo’s low-power single-chip fully integrated SoC BL616/618 multi-protocol coexistence technology effectively overcomes the stability and compatibility issues of high and low-speed rates after the rapid increase of smart home products, solving the effective network capacity bottleneck and providing foundational architectural support for the rapid growth of the smart home market and the widespread application of AI.
The ultra-low power technology addresses the pain points of energy-saving endurance, significantly increasing standby time and greatly improving user experience and device networking convenience (no need for forced plugging in to maintain standby for years).
Optimizing these two application pain points will undoubtedly become a driving force for the rapid development of smart IoT, aiding in the early realization of the 3.85 billion or even 10 billion IoT connections mentioned in the GSMA report “The Mobile Economy 2025”!
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