It's been a good week for the Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price, gaining 38% to close on Wednesday at 0.23 cents.
Brainchip claims to be a leader in neuromorphic computing, a branch of artificial intelligence, and has developed "a type of neuromorphic computing that learns autonomously, evolves and associates information just like the human brain".
It announced this week that it sent its first BrainChip Accelerator, to be used in the development of autonomous vehicles, to a "major European car maker" for evaluation.
European car makers, including Renault, Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW, are all making inroads in the development of self-driving vehicles, along with other major car makers.
It appears the race is on to tap the lucrative self-driving market that could be worth $7 trillion a year by 2050, according to US tech giant Intel.
While Brainchip may be in a position to capture a chunk of that lucrative market, it will face tough competition from well-established companies in stronger financial positions.
In FY16 Brainchip reported a loss from ordinary activities after tax attributable to members of US$2,067,763, up by almost 400% on the FY15 figure of US$414,376.
For FY17, Brainchip's loss stood at US$5,816,603, up by about 180% on the previous year.
The company, with a market cap of $165 million, attributed the loss to increased research and development costs, expansion of the board of directors and an increase in administration and professional costs, among other factors.
But, with some highly experienced players on board, such as former IBM designer Peter van der Made among its Silicon Valley management team, and technology that can be applied to a wide range or areas outside the self-driving car market, there seems to be a lot going for Brainchip.
If you're interested in other companies involved in AI it may be worth checking out Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) or OpenDNA Ltd (ASX: OPN).
Or, if you're looking something less risky, check this out…
