# Nordic Semiconductor launches nRF71 chips with Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth LE and optional AI accelerator

Digest AI · Hardware & Compute · published 2026-11-03T08:52:02Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/nordic-semiconductor-launches-nrf71-chips-with-wifi-bluetooth-le-and-o

## Summary

Nordic Semiconductor announced the nRF71 Series on November 3, 2026, offering low‑power chips that integrate Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth LE, Thread, a host processor and optional on‑device AI. The first two parts, the nRF7120 and nRF7120E, combine dual‑band Wi‑Fi 6 (the latter adds 6 GHz Wi‑Fi 6E) with a 2.4 GHz multiprotocol radio and a 256 MHz Arm Cortex‑M33 processor plus a 256 MHz RISC‑V coprocessor. Nordic says standby power is up to 20 times lower than its earlier nRF70 series, with average current of 14 µA at 2.4 GHz and 8 µA at 5 GHz while connected.

The nRF7120E includes the Axon neural processing unit, which Nordic claims runs machine‑learning models 10‑17 times faster than the Cortex‑M33 alone, enabling keyword spotting, anomaly detection and image classification on battery‑powered devices. Both chips provide 4 MB non‑volatile memory and 1 MB RAM, support Matter, NFC and can run sensor‑fusion or audio models locally. Nordic is sampling the chips with selected customers and plans FCC, CE and Japan certifications, but general availability has not been announced.

## Key points

- Nordic unveiled nRF7120 and nRF7120E chips that merge Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth LE, Thread and optional AI accelerator on a single package.
- Standby power is up to 20 times lower than the previous nRF70 series; connected current is 14 µA (2.4 GHz) and 8 µA (5 GHz).
- Axon NPU in nRF7120E runs ML models 10‑17 times faster than the Cortex‑M33, supporting keyword spotting, anomaly detection and image classification.

## Why it matters

The integrated radios and on‑device AI reduce component count, board space and power use for battery‑operated IoT products, accelerating smart‑home and industrial sensor deployments.

## Sources

1. [Nordic Semiconductor Combines Wi-Fi and Edge AI in nRF71 Chips](https://unite.ai/nordic-semiconductor-combines-wi-fi-and-edge-ai-in-nrf71-chips) (Unite.AI, 2026-11-03)

## Cite

Digest AI, "Nordic Semiconductor launches nRF71 chips with Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth LE and optional AI accelerator", 3 November 2026, https://digestai.news/story/nordic-semiconductor-launches-nrf71-chips-with-wifi-bluetooth-le-and-o

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