Ceva CEO Amir Panush Named "Artificial Intelligence Company CEO of the Year" in 2026 AI Breakthrough Awards Program
Recognition reflects Panush's leadership in anticipating the shift to hybrid AI inference and aligning Ceva's Connect, Sense and Infer portfolio to enable intelligent processing at the edge
ROCKVILLE, Md., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ceva, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA), the leading licensor of silicon and software IP for the Smart Edge, today announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Amir Panush, has been named "Artificial Intelligence Company CEO of the Year" in the 9th annual AI Breakthrough Awards program, which recognizes the world's most innovative companies, technologies and leaders in the artificial intelligence market.
Panush was recognized for his leadership in identifying and acting on a fundamental shift in how AI inference is deployed. Rather than a simple migration from cloud to edge, the industry is moving toward a hybrid model in which AI processing is distributed across cloud and local devices, with the right model running in the right place at the right time. He made the strategic call to align Ceva's connectivity, sensing and inference technologies into a cohesive portfolio built to enable the local half of that equation, equipping edge devices to handle inference on-device where power, latency, cost and privacy requirements make cloud processing impractical.
"This award reflects the dedication of the entire Ceva team and the trust our customers place in us as their IP partner," said Amir Panush, Chief Executive Officer of Ceva. "AI inference is increasingly a distributed challenge. The cloud will always play a role, but billions of connected devices need to sense, reason and act locally. We built our portfolio to address exactly that need, and the market is now moving squarely in that direction."
Central to that strategy is Ceva's AI Fabric portfolio, an integrated set of silicon and software IP spanning connectivity, sensing and inference that provides the essential building blocks for accelerating the development of Physical AI systems. Through its Connect, Sense and Infer technology pillars, Ceva's IP enables devices to communicate, perceive their environment and perform intelligent local processing as part of a broader hybrid AI architecture.
The strategy is translating into tangible market momentum. Ceva has secured more than a dozen NeuPro NPU IP licensing wins spanning consumer IoT, industrial, automotive, infrastructure and PC applications, with customers actively designing Ceva's edge AI processors into the next generation of AI-enabled products. This emerging pipeline sits alongside Ceva's established scale: today, more than 2 billion devices incorporating Ceva technologies ship annually across consumer electronics, automotive, industrial IoT and mobile markets.
"Amir has demonstrated exceptional leadership in positioning Ceva at the forefront of the edge AI revolution," said Steve Johansson, Managing Director, AI Breakthrough. "By anticipating where AI inference was heading and building the portfolio to support it, he has helped enable a new generation of intelligent devices that can understand and interact with the world around them."
About AI Breakthrough
Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership, the AI Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring excellence in Artificial Intelligence technologies, services, companies and products. The AI Breakthrough Awards provide public recognition for the achievements of AI companies and products in categories including Agentic AI, Machine Learning, Generative AI, Robotics, AI Hardware, Computer Vision and more. For more information visit AIBreakthroughAwards.com.
About Ceva, Inc.
Ceva powers the Smart Edge, bridging the digital and physical worlds to bring AI-driven products to life. Our Ceva AI fabric portfolio of silicon and software IP enables devices to Connect, Sense, and Infer – the essential capabilities for the intelligent edge. From 5G, cellular IoT, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and UWB connectivity to scalable Edge AI NPUs, AI DSPs, sensor fusion processors and embedded software, Ceva provides the foundational IP for devices that connect, understand their environment, and act in real time.
With more than 21 billion devices shipped and trusted by 400+ customers worldwide, Ceva is the backbone of today's most advanced smart edge products - from AI-infused wearables and IoT devices to autonomous vehicles and 5G infrastructure. Our differentiated solutions deliver seamless integration into existing design flows, total flexibility to combine solutions based on design needs and ultra‑low‑power performance in minimal silicon footprint, helping customers accelerate development, reduce risk, and bring innovative products to market faster. As technology evolves toward Physical AI, Ceva's IP portfolio lays the foundation for systems that are always connected, contextually aware, and capable of intelligent, real-time decision-making.
Visit us at www.ceva-ip.com and follow us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
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SOURCE Ceva, Inc.