Samsung To Design And Make Chips For Tesla Cars
Samsung Electronics will supply automotive semiconductors to electric car maker Tesla Motors, according to electronics industry sources.
Samsung has reportedly signed a customized ASIC foundry deal with Tesla. The produced system-on-chips (SoC) will be designed and manufactured by Samsung, and will enter mass production within the next three years, according to sources in South Korea.
Tesla has been supplied chips made by Israel's Mobileye, but started looking for alternative suppliers after a driver was killed in May this year in a self-driving mode. Tesla is also receiving AI chips related to self-driving technology from NVIDIA.
After receiving orders from Tesla, Samsung is considering a split of its system LSI division into design and foundry business units.
Asked whether the company is in the works for organizational change, a Samsung Electronics official said, "Nothing has been decided on this issue."
Samsung Electronics' System LSI Business Department is also developing its own automotive SoC and has striked a deal with Audi, although the company has not clarified whether the deal is related to memory supply or SoC supply for infotainment systems.