IoT specialist M5Stack has released an alluring, translucent, RGB-infused, tetrahederal mini-PC dubbed the AI Pyramid Computing Box. Despite its curb-appeal, and great connectivity, computing enthusiasts should be clear that this cute little computer is designed for local-AI and edge deployment. M5Stack’s octa‑core Cortex‑A55 and NPU-powered box of tricks isn’t really a contender to replace your x86 productivity and gaming workhorse.
So, we’ve established the purpose of the AI Pyramid, let’s look closer at the compelling specs for edge-AI purposes. This delightful device is based around an Axera AX8850 SoC, which integrates an octa-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor, a 24 TOPS INT8 NPU, and 8K H.264/H.265 hardware encode/decode engines.
With the 4GB model ($199) there is 2GB available to the system and 2GB reserved for the NPU and video engines. M5Stack’s AI Pyramid Pro 8GB model ups the split to 4GB/4GB. Even the higher-spec model would be stingy for a desktop Linux OS, which is one of the major reasons we said this isn’t going to find favor as a general purpose mini-PC.
M5Stack reckons that the true sweet spot deployments of its AI Pyramid will include: AI PC & Edge Intelligent Terminals; Smart Interactive Devices such as Home Assistant, AIGC, voice cloning, meeting transcription; AI Vision Gateways; Local AI Smart Photo Album (Immich); and AI-Powered Intelligent Security (Frigate).
For hardware clarity, we’ve tabulated the full, extensive specs list of the AI Pyramid Computing Box, below.
Category |
Details |
|---|---|
SoC |
Axera AX8850 — octa-core Cortex-A55 @ 1.7 GHz, 24 TOPS INT8 NPU, hardware H.264/H.265 encode/decode |
RAM |
4GB (or 8GB 'Pro' model) LPDDR4x-4266 (split evenly: half for system, half for the NPU / video engines) |
Storage |
32GB eMMC 5.1, microSD card slot |
Physical |
144.5 × 105 × 62mm, 195g; translucent pyramid enclosure with RGB LED matrix and OLED status display |
I/O |
2× HDMI 2.0 outputs (4K60) |
Networking |
Dual Gigabit Ethernet; Wi-Fi/Bluetooth via optional modules |
Audio |
4-mic array (ES7210), ES8311 audio codec, built-in speaker |
Power |
USB-C PD with 9V/3A (27W) required |
OS Support |
Axera Linux (official), with AI frameworks: AXCL, Whisper, CLIP, Llama 3.2, Qwen 3, InternVL3 |
Additionally, the M5Stack AI Pyramid comes with some nice frills such as the headlining RGB lighting (consisting of 48 LEDs in four segments), a small 32×128 pixels OLED status display, quad-microphones, a built-in speaker, is cooled by a single thermal sensing active fan, and has two user-configurable buttons.
M5Stack's compact translucent device comes in at an almost impulse-buy price (in 4GB and 8GB versions). Maybe that’s why it has completely sold out so quickly. Hopefully, we will see restocks soon, without any RAMpocalypse-style inflation changing those sticker prices for the worse.
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