Dev proves LLMs will run on anything – even a $10 microcontroller
EDGE AND IOT
Getting a small local language model running on a notebook or even smartphone in 2026 is trivial. But what about something even smaller and lower-power. Say, like an ESP32 microcontroller that costs less than $10?
It might sound impossible — the device is primarily designed for things like remote sensors, IoT, and other embedded applications, not running generative AI models — yet, that's exactly what a developer who goes by the handle SlvDev has managed to do.
In a process detailed on GitHub, and recently showcased on the Better Stack YouTube channel, SlvDev documented how he managed to get a small language model running at nearly 10 tokens a second locally on a microcontroller that costs about the same as a fancy cup of coffee.
Tiny stories on a tiny microcontroller
Cramming a large language model (LLM) onto something as small as a ESP32 microcontroller...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to theregister.com. To see the full text click HERE
