Intel wants to put AI hardware into your cars

Intel is a company best-known for its CPUs that can be found in the vast majority of computers these days. But the company is looking to expand beyond PCs. At CES 2024, Intel announced new AI hardware that they plan to put into cars in the not-so-distant future.

According to Intel, they are calling this new hardware an “AI-enhanced software-defined vehicle system-on-chip”. This chipset is expected to power and control a number of functions in a car. This includes safety features like LiDAR, radar, camera sensors, and more. It will also be able to power entertainment systems and your car’s cockpit.

To that end, Intel has also announced a deal to acquire Silicon Mobility. This is a fabless silicon and software company that specializes in SoCs for EV energy management.

So far, it appears that Intel has at least one automotive customer, Zeekr. The company did not mention any other brands, but said that they are in active talks with a number of OEMs. It will be interesting to see how Intel AI hardware efforts for cars will go, especially since they will be up against other prominent players in the AI sector, namely NVIDIA.

In addition to Intel, we’ve also seen other car makers start introducing AI features to their vehicles. During CES, Volkswagen also made an announcement of their own which would see the company integrate ChatGPT into select vehicles.