Samsung Electronics is giving one of its most innovative auto chips to Volkswagen AG for its in-car infotainment system, as the South Korean tech giant looks to increase its existence in the fast-growing smart and connected car component industry.
Samsung claimed in a statement that the Exynos Auto V7 is used in Volkswagen’s latest In Car Application Server (ICAS) 3.1, which was built by LG Electronics Inc. in Korea.
Meanwhile, Samsung has remained tight-lipped about the deal’s volume and value.
Samsung’s sophisticated automotive chip is the company’s most recent addition to its automotive processor lineup.
Read more: Samsung partners with Hyundai Motors to develop car chips
Samsung claims that the Exynos Auto V7 supports four screens and 12 camera inputs, with up to 32 GB of LPDDR4x memory capacity, and provides strong data security via an independent security processor for crypto operations.
The V7 chip also has a neural processing unit (NPU) for services like virtual assistance, which can process visual and auditory input for features like face, speech, and gesture recognition.
Smarter, More Connected
As global automakers rapidly deploy autonomous and in-vehicle entertainment systems, demand for powerful car chips has surged. Samsung has improved its high-tech chip lineup, while LG has increased production of advanced components.
A self-driving automobile typically requires at least 2,000 chips, compared to approximately 300 chips for existing human driving models.
According to market research firm IHS Markit, the worldwide car chip industry is expected to increase at a 7% annual pace to $67.6 billion by 2026, up from $45 billion this year, with chip demand expected to rise to 208.3 billion units by 2027, up from 132.5 billion this year.
“On the road, smarter and more connected automotive technologies for improved in-vehicle experiences such as entertainment, safety, and comfort are becoming key features,” said Park Jae-hong, executive vice president of Samsung’s System LSI Custom SOC business.
Samsung’s 3 New Logic Solutions
Samsung has been delivering car chips to a number of automobile manufacturers.
It supplied Germany’s Audi AG with its Exynos Auto 8890 processing chips in 2017. Samsung began supplying the German luxury automobile manufacturer with the Exynos Auto V9 infotainment system in 2019.
Samsung launched the ISOCELL Auto 4AC, its first ISOCELL image sensor designed specifically for automotive applications, in July of this year. Hyundai Motor Co. uses the chip in its automobiles.
Samsung also announced two other auto chips: the Exynos Auto T5123 for 5G connection and the S2VPS01, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) chip.
According to Samsung, the Exynos Auto T5123 is the industry’s first 5G connectivity solution for autos.
It provides real-time data to the car via high-speed downloads of up to 5.1 gigabits per second (Gbps), allowing passengers to take use of a variety of services such as high-definition content streaming and video conversations while on the go, as per company.
According to Samsung, the S2VPS01 regulates and rectifies electrical power flow, allowing for reliable in-vehicle infotainment system performance.
