CES 2024: Intel targets autos with AI-enabled chip for next-generation cars

Intel Corp. is making an ambitious bet on the automotive sector with specialized versions of its latest artificial intelligence-enabled chips. In doing so, the company is challenging rivals Nvidia Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. which currently dominate the market for semiconductors that act as the «brains» of the next generation of «smart» cars.

Intel Corp. is making an ambitious bet on the automotive sector with specialized versions of its latest AI-enabled chips.

Today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company unveiled a new system-on-a-chip Software-Defined Vehicle, which is said to be designed to incorporate artificial intelligence into next-generation vehicles. The SoCs are also flexible, as developers will be able to specify exactly what type of processing they want to see in the vehicle.

Chinese electric car maker Zeekr Co. Ltd. has been named the first automaker to use Intel’s software-defined vehicle systems-on-chips with artificial intelligence support, and it plans to create an «enhanced living room» with video conferencing and AI voice assistant capabilities in its vehicles.

An AI-enabled SoC will be used in its cars.

Jack Weast, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Automotive division, said at a briefing at CES that the new AI-enabled chips for cars are based on the company’s recently announced AI PC technology, but will be customized to meet the durability and performance requirements of cars and other vehicles.

Intel’s new AI-enabled chips for cars are based on the company’s recently announced AI PC technology, but will be customized to meet the durability and performance requirements of cars and other vehicles.

The Future of Development for Cars at Intel

Besides new chips, Intel announced plans to acquire French startup Silicon Mobility SAS, which develops SoC technology and software used to control electric motors and on-board charging systems for electric vehicles. Intel did not say how much it would pay to buy Silicon Mobility, which is a privately held company partly owned by venture capital firms Cipio Partners and Capital-E.

Silicon Mobility is a private company partly owned by venture capital firms Cipio Partners and Capital-E.

The company’s SoCs are said to feature industry-leading gas pedals that are low-power. They also use advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to maximize energy efficiency. The technology will help expand Intel’s reach in the automotive sector beyond high-performance computing to smart and programmable power devices.

The technology will help Intel expand its reach in the automotive sector beyond high-performance computing to smart and programmable power devices.

Intel has long been in the infotainment market, with its chips installed in more than 50 million cars worldwide. But the company lags behind market leaders Nvidia and Qualcomm. Car chips are used not only for automated driving, but also to power in-car infotainment software and sophisticated dashboard displays.

Whist told reporters at CES that Intel «has done a pretty terrible job of communicating our successes in the automotive industry» and that now is the time to change that. He explained that Intel will try to differentiate itself from the competition by selling automakers chips that can be used in all of their product lines, with options ranging from the least expensive to the most advanced.

He said that Intel will try to differentiate itself from the competition by selling automakers chips that can be used in all of their product lines, with options ranging from the least expensive to the most advanced.

«If AI in a car means 500 watts … and god knows what costs … that’s not scalable» — Whist said, referring to Nvidia’s powerful but also very expensive products.

Intel won’t be alone in taking this approach, however. Last year, Nvidia announced a partnership with Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek Inc. to offer cheaper chips to automakers. MediaTek has a strong presence in the market for Android-based infotainment systems used in low-cost cars.

MediaTek has a strong presence in the market for Android-based infotainment systems used in low-cost cars.

The Chinese electric car market is expected to be a battleground for Intel and its competitors. Chinese automakers are looking to incorporate automated driving systems and more advanced infotainment capabilities into their cars, and Zeekr is known to be a customer of Nvidia as well as Intel.

An electric carmaker in China is expected to be a battlefield for Intel and its competitors.

Whist said Intel will not depend on what technologies automakers want to use to provide automated driving and other features. Thus, the company won’t require automakers to use automated driving chips created by its former Mobileye Global Inc. mobile chip division. Instead, they will be able to incorporate their own chips into Intel’s system, which will help them cut costs, Wist said.

Weast said.