Bosch and Tenstorrent Collaboration

By Max A. Cherney
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – German industrial giant Bosch will collaborate with U.S. chip startup Tenstorrent to develop a platform for standardizing automotive chips, as stated by Tenstorrent executives.

The partnership will involve creating a standard method to utilize chiplets, which are building blocks of modern chips, to develop systems addressing various vehicle needs, according to Tenstorrent's chief customer officer, David Bennett.

By combining different quantities and types of chiplets to form complete processors, the collaboration aims to reduce costs and speed up the introduction of new silicon products in the automotive sector.

Bennett remarked, "(Bosch is) collaborating with us to essentially redefine how automakers look at silicon – purchasing silicon and building silicon."

The rising popularity of electric vehicles has transformed cars into complex computer systems that operate via a battery. This technical complexity has prompted manufacturers to explore new ways to generate or acquire the chips necessary for these advancements.

Chip manufacturers like Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Mobileye produce various driver assistance chips and relevant software.

The premise behind the Bosch-Tenstorrent collaboration is that standardizing chiplet technical requirements could drive down costs, according to Bennett.

Producing a large volume of a standard chiplet, which can be added or removed based on application needs, would reduce expenses. This approach would also grant automakers more customization options for their designs, as opposed to relying on off-the-shelf parts, highlighted Thaddeus Fortenberry, Tenstorrent's automotive vice president.

Currently, the collaboration does not involve any specific products or sales to automakers.

Tenstorrent is led by Jim Keller, who previously focused on chip design for Tesla’s autonomous driving efforts. Keller has also designed chips for AMD and Apple, among others.

(Max A. Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Varun H K)