Specifications
Product Family
STMicroelectronics STM32MP257F-DK Discovery kit
Target MPU
STM32MP257FAK3 (STM32MP2 series, Arm Cortex MPU line)
Application Core
Dual Arm Cortex-A35 at 1.5 GHz running Linux
Real-Time Core
Arm Cortex-M33 at 400 MHz as a coprocessor
Neural Processing
Integrated NPU in the STM32MP25 line for edge AI inference
Power Management
STPMIC25 companion chip
Memory Support
DDR4, LPDDR4 and DDR3L (DDR3L added to ease DDR4/LPDDR4 supply and pricing pressure)
Storage
microSD card slot and onboard eMMC
Networking
1 Gbit/s Ethernet via external PHY
Wireless
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth Low Energy v4.1
USB
One USB3 Type-C with Power Delivery and two stacked USB 2.0 high-speed Type-A
Display Interfaces
One LCD LVDS connector and one HDMI connector
Camera
One camera connector
Expansion
GPIO expansion connector compatible with Raspberry Pi shields
Debug
Embedded ST-LINK debug tool
User Interface
User LEDs and push-buttons
Operating System
STM32 MPU OpenSTLinux distribution; STM32CubeMP2 for the Cortex-M33
Memory Flexibility
DDR3L support is a deliberate cost and supply-chain advantage across the STM32MP2 range
Documentation
MB1605 board schematics, bill of materials and manufacturing files published by ST
Product Status
Active, in volume production; RoHS Ecopack1 and WEEE compliant
Overview
The STM32MP257F-DK is STMicroelectronics' Discovery kit for the STM32MP257F microprocessor, the flagship of the STM32MP2 series. The board pairs a dual-core Arm Cortex-A35 application processor running at 1.5 GHz with an Arm Cortex-M33 real-time coprocessor at 400 MHz, and adds an integrated NPU for edge inference, all managed by the STPMIC25 companion power chip.
The kit is designed as a full demonstration and development platform rather than a bare breakout. It carries 1 Gbit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth Low Energy, a USB3 Type-C port with Power Delivery, two stacked USB 2.0 high-speed Type-A ports, an LCD LVDS connector, HDMI, a camera connector, microSD and eMMC storage, plus a Raspberry Pi-compatible GPIO expansion header and an embedded ST-LINK debug tool.
A notable differentiator for 2025-era supply planning is that the STM32MP2 series supports DDR3L in addition to DDR4 and LPDDR4, giving designers a way to hold pricing and secure memory supply during DDR4/LPDDR4 shortages. Software support spans the OpenSTLinux distribution on the Cortex-A35 cores and STM32CubeMP2 on the Cortex-M33, with ST Edge AI tooling for model deployment. QS Compute supplies the STM32MP257F-DK and related STM32MP2 development hardware.
Key Benefits
Heterogeneous architecture: dual Cortex-A35 Linux cores plus a Cortex-M33 real-time coprocessor on one die. Edge AI in the box: an integrated NPU supported by ST's edge AI toolchain. Supply-flexible memory: DDR3L support alongside DDR4 and LPDDR4 hedges against memory pricing and availability swings. Complete platform: Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, BLE, USB3 PD, LVDS, HDMI, eMMC and Raspberry Pi shield expansion with ST-LINK debug onboard.
Applications
Embedded Linux product development, industrial HMI and gateway prototypes, edge AI vision and voice nodes, secure IoT devices, motor-control and real-time applications using the Cortex-M33 coprocessor, and evaluation of the STM32MP2 series before custom board design.
Request a Quote — ST STM32MP257F-DK — DISCOVERY KIT FOR STM32MP2 WITH NPU AND DDR3L SUPPORT
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