Samsung will reportedly launch an Exynos Auto chip for cars this year

Samsung wants to expand the reach of its semiconductors into new markets and the automotive industry seems like the right fit. According to a new report out of China, the company is going to launch a new chip called Exynos Auto for cars. It’s not necessarily related to Samsung’s self-driving car platform. The Exynos Auto chip will be used for powering the infotainment system and digital dashboard.

Samsung Exynos Auto chips will be exclusively designed for cars

We reported back in January last year that Samsung will supply Audi with Exynos-branded processors from 2018. Today’s report reiterates that the Exynos Auto chip will be first supplied to Audi that has mostly used chips from Qualcomm.

Exynos Auto is said to be Samsung’s first system-on-a-chip designed exclusively to bring significant computing power to in-car solutions like infotainment, head-up display and a digital dashboard much like the one Samsung’s Harman subsidiary recently showed off at CES 2018.

The report also mentions that the Exynos Auto chip will rely on artificial intelligence technology to improve efficiency. It may include an LTE modem as well which will enable the infotainment system to support internet connectivity.

The company is expected to complete the mass production of its Exynos Auto chip within this year. However, this isn’t the first time that Samsung has produced chips for cars. It started supplying 20-nanometer LPDDR4 DRAM and 10-nanometer class eMMC 5.1 card to Audi back in 2015.