Continental invests in German-US AI chip start-up

These processors of the future are intended for use in Continental’s high-performance vehicle computers, among other applications, where they will perform rapid processing of sensor data for automated and autonomous driving. Continental experts predict that volume production featuring the new chip application could begin as early as 2026. This new processor design could complement the opportunities offered by the existing partnership with NVIDIA. Figuratively speaking, the new, highly specialised processors serve as an ultra-economical data booster: with minimal energy consumption, they enable vehicle computers to gain a rapid sense of the vehicle’s immediate surroundings, thus creating the basis for automated and autonomous driving. Both companies have agreed not to disclose the amount of the holding. “Without faster chips, there will be no networking, no automation and no autonomous driving,” says Frank Petznick, head of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems business unit at Continental, in a press release. “Through our own research in the area of new chip designs, our strategic partnerships with large chip manufacturers such as NVIDIA and our investment in Recogni, we are taking the first step toward meeting the future need for highly specialized processors for sensor modules and control units for our powerful, high-performance vehicle computers.” “Continental’s support is a strong endorsement of Recogni’s approach to solving the most difficult challenges in autonomous driving,” adds R K Anand, Recogni’s Chief Executive Officer. “Recogni’s focus enables us to solve challenge of perception processing by building the world’s highest performing AI inference system at the lowest energy consumption, by developing cutting-edge ASICs for state-of-the-art inference algorithms.”