The global automotive industry is at a crossroads with respect to supplying advanced semiconductors for autonomous driving. There are two options. One is to purchase and equip high-performance system-on-chip (SoC) semiconductors from Nvidia, which has a virtual monopoly on Level 3 and higher autonomous driving semiconductors. The other is to internalize them or explore new technologies.
The Advanced SoC Research for Automotive (ASRA), a semiconductor R&D organization of 14 Japanese companies including Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, and other automakers, said at a recent press conference that it aims to secure semiconductor chiplet (packaging) technology by 2028 and put SoCs, which it will develop through this technology, into mass-produced cars, according to sources in the global automotive industry.
If the development is successful, Rapidus, a semiconductor foundry co-funded by Japanese companies, will be in charge of SoC production.
The ASRA looks to develop and produce one-nanometer ultra-high-performance SoCs for communications and vehicle control for Level 3 and higher autonomous driving. The Japanese automakers are believed to have organized the alliance to lower their dependence on Nvidia.
“The performances of SoCs determine the performances of cars loaded with the SoCs, including autonomous driving,” said Yamamoto Keiji, chairman of the ASRA and a senior researcher at Toyota, emphasizing that the development was centered on finished cars. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced on March 29 that it will subsidize the project with one billion yen.
As high-performance, low-power semiconductor design technology, AI semiconductor technology required for autonomous driving, and high-speed signal interface technology have become the core of future vehicle manufacturing, competition among automakers to internalize semiconductors is accelerating. A representative semiconductor internalization company in the automotive industry is Tesla. Tesla is strengthening its independent development and vertical integration of SoCs.
Recently, NIO, a Chinese electric vehicle company, also announced that it has developed semiconductors for high-performance sensor LiDAR control.
Hyundai Motor Group is faced with more complicated challenges. “Hyundai is looking for a complex response by purchasing Nvidia products and at the same time, internalizing semiconductors,” said Jang Hong-chang, a senior researcher at the Korea Automotive Research Institute. The company is internalizing semiconductors to reduce its dependence on Nvidia.
Hyundai Mobis acquired Hyundai Autron’s semiconductor business division in 2020 to boost its semiconductor capabilities, and has been expanding its semiconductor design and foundry investments. It has invested about US$50 million in Canada’s Tenstorrent headed by semiconductor chip design legend Jim Keller, and continues to invest in BOS Semiconductor led by former Samsung Electronics executive Park Jae-hong. BOS Semiconductor is a fabless startup that designs high-performance SoC system semiconductors for automotive applications. It is also continuing to cooperate with Samsung Electronics on high-performance semiconductors for infotainment.
“Hyundai Motor is taking steps to internalize high-performance chips in its supply chain management on its own, but it will take time to properly function as a check on Nvidia,” said an automaker industry insider.
