US-based chipmaker Nvidia has signed separate deals with China-based electric vehicle start-ups XPeng Motors, Singulato Motors and SF Motors to develop autonomous driving technology.
XPeng and Singulato will use Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) driving chip Xavier and its computing platform to develop hardware for autonomous driving, a strategic technology area in which China’s leaders want to compete globally, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday.
The companies separately said they will work on a series of projects from data collection to machine learning, Reuters reported.
XPeng said it plans to implement level 3 intelligent driving features in its vehicles starting in 2020 using customized software and hardware developed with Nvidia and Huizhou Desay SV Automotive.
Singulato said it will use Nvidia’s Xavier platform to develop level 3 self-driving systems and eventually upgrade to level 4, in which vehicles are able to drive autonomously in most, but not all, conditions.
SF Motors, based in Silicon Valley in the United States, plans to launch its first electric crossover vehicle next year, and will develop its next-generation autonomous platform using Xavier.
Nvidia earlier this year released Xavier, an artificial intelligence computing system-on-chip targeting automakers. Nvidia said the chip can add software to adapt their vehicles to local traffic and infrastructure situations.
