In this recently taken photo provided by Hyundai Motor Group, Kim Heung-soo (R), executive vice president and head of the global strategy office at the group and Tenstorrent CEO Jim Keller pose for a photo after signing an investment agreement in the Canadian artificial intelligence semiconductor startup in California.
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it will invest US$50 million in Canadian artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor startup Tenstorrent as it seeks to integrate AI into its future mobility solutions.
Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp. will invest $30 million and $20 million, respectively, in Tenstorrent as they want to jointly develop optimized semiconductors for their next-generation vehicles, the group said in a statement.
“With this investment, the group expects to develop optimized but differentiated semiconductor technology that will aid future mobilities and strengthen internal capabilities in AI technology development,” Kim Heung-soo, executive vice president and head of the global strategy office at Hyundai Motor Group, said in the statement.
The newly developed high-performance semiconductors will be used in central processing units (CPU) and neural processing units (NPU) for future vehicles and mobility solutions, it said.
Hyundai and Kia’s investment accounts for half of Tenstorrent’s latest funding round valued at $100 million.
Tenstorrent, established in 2016, focuses on developing advanced processors to accelerate AI and machine learning workloads.
Tenstorrent and the Korean carmakers plan to expand their partnership from automotive chips to robotics and advanced air mobility (AAM) solutions in the long term.
AAM encompasses the urban air mobility and regional air mobility segments to offer environmentally friendly air mobility solutions for intracity and intercity transportation.
(Yonhap)
