In this episode of Mike and Amit Talk Tech from the IMD Podcast Network, hosts Mike Wade and Amit Joshi speak with Tomoko Yokoi, Senior Researcher at IMD, about one of AI’s fastest-growing frontiers — Edge AI.

Drawing on over 20 years of experience in B2B and B2C industries, Tomoko explains what Edge AI is, why it matters, and how it could reshape both consumer and business applications in the coming decade.

The discussion unpacks how running AI directly on local devices brings speed, bandwidth savings, and potential privacy benefits, while also creating new opportunities for non-traditional AI players like telecoms companies and hardware producers. Tomoko also explores the likely rise of hybrid AI models that blend cloud and edge capabilities, and the competitive shake-up this could trigger in the AI ecosystem.

From healthcare wearables to next-generation smartphones, mining equipment and future 6G services, this conversation dives deep into the technical, strategic, and regulatory implications AI “at the edge.”