You’ve probably heard about this wild rumor involving MediaTek planning to partner with NVIDIA for a new set of chips. As much as it looked farfetched, MediaTek did announce at COMPUTEX 2023 that they are indeed partnering with NVIDIA. However, the partnership is not for smartphone chips: instead, MediaTek is teaming up with NVIDIA to help in strengthening its Dimensity Auto platform, which aims to offer a range of in-vehicle AI solutions to future cars.
Under the collaboration, MediaTek will develop its Dimensity Auto SoCs with an NVIDIA GPU chiplet that has the company’s AI and graphics IP. MediaTek on their end will optimize its Dimensity Auto chips to work with NVIDIA Drive OS, Drive IX, CUDA, and TensorRT software tech, allowing for a full range of AI-powered cabin and cockpit functions with all the necessary safety and security features.
“The combination of MediaTek’s industry-leading SoC and NVIDIA’s GPU and AI software technologies will enable new user experiences, enhanced safety and new connected services for all vehicle segments, from luxury to mainstream,” NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said.
Neither NVIDIA nor MediaTek divulged details about this unique partnership, but it’s expected to produce Dimensity Auto chips with NVIDIA GPU chiplets by 2026, with an official launch slated for 2027 model year cars. The partnership will be a global one, which MediaTek will need in order to match up with Qualcomm, which commands an 80% market in automotive connectivity in 2022.
