Waymo, Alphabet's robotaxi subsidiary, has developed a custom chip for its self-driving taxis, according to Bloomberg. The chip is already in use in the company's latest vehicle generation and processes sensor data faster than previous systems. It runs AI models that enable robotaxis to understand and react to their environment. This marks a shift from reliance on chips from Nvidia and AMD, which Waymo previously used for its autonomous driving systems.
The custom chip delivers more than 1,000 TOPS and is manufactured by TSMC using a 5-nanometer process, according to Waymo. This places it on par with Nvidia's current autonomous driving systems. The move is intended to reduce costs, as Waymo is installing the chip in its new robotaxi, which it is building with Chinese manufacturer Zeekr.
Waymo announced the development of the custom chip as part of its efforts to enhance the performance and efficiency of its robotaxis. The chip's capabilities are designed to support the complex AI models required for autonomous driving. Source: thedecoder
