In 2005, a small team assembled to create a fast and flexible microcontroller that would enable designers to respond quickly to diversifying market demand. The first (XS1) and second (xcore-200) generation processors put unprecedented I/O capability (available through software for the first time) alongside significant DSP and control processing – establishing XMOS as a name in the audio sector. The vision quickly shifted towards AI. Caught between two very different technical and commercial models, Graphcore was formed to focus on server-side AI, and XMOS continued the quest towards affordable embedded intelligence (edge-AI). Enabling voice to become mainstream, XMOS has gone on to release next generation, high-performance voice interfaces for smart things, alongside xcore.ai – a new crossover processor for the AIoT that brings AI, DSP, control and I/O together in a single device.