Samsung to play bigger role in manufacturing Tesla's AI chips
What's the story
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that Samsung Electronics will play a bigger role in manufacturing chips for the electric car maker. The announcement was made during Tesla's third-quarter conference call, where Musk said that Samsung would share manufacturing duties for the company's upcoming artificial intelligence (AI) chip, AI5. This comes as a shift from earlier indications that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would be the primary manufacturer.
Chip innovation
AI5 chip not like traditional GPU, says Musk
Musk clarified that the AI5 chip is not designed like a conventional graphics processing unit (GPU). It omits image signal processing to save space and maximize efficiency. The tech is used in Tesla's self-driving car features and its still-nascent line of robots, along with hardware from NVIDIA Corp., the leading maker of AI computing processors.
Strategic partnership
Tesla previously announced Samsung would produce AI6 chip
In July, Musk had announced that Tesla would use Samsung to produce its next-generation AI6 chip. The announcement came after a Bloomberg News report about the same. The companies had signed a $16.5 billion contract, which was seen as a major win for Samsung's foundry unit, its business of making chips for other companies.
Information
Samsung increasing investments in production hub near Austin
Despite being a distant second to TSMC in the foundry industry, Samsung is increasing its investments in a production hub near Austin, where Tesla is based. This highlights the South Korean tech giant's growing influence and role in the semiconductor market.