Hyundai Motor Group today announced a strategic investment in Tenstorrent, an artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company based in Toronto, Canada, which will allow the Group to integrate AI into future Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles, and other future mobilities, including robotics and advanced air mobility (AAM).
Hyundai and Kia will invest $50 million in Tenstorrent’s latest funding round. This investment will help accelerate the development of AI chiplets and machine learning software.
The Group plans to work together with Tenstorrent to develop advanced semiconductors for future vehicles and mobility solutions, using their high-performance technologies and expertise. These semiconductors will be used in CPUs and NPUs.
“Tenstorrent’s high growth potential and high-performance AI semiconductors will help the Group secure competitive technologies for future mobilities,” said Heung-soo Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of the Global Strategy Office (GSO) at Hyundai Motor Group. “With this investment, the Group expects to develop optimized but differentiated semiconductor technology that will aid future mobilities and strengthen internal capabilities in AI technology development.”
“The trust in Tenstorrent shown by Hyundai Motor Group leading our round is truly humbling,” said Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent. “It has been impressive watching Hyundai Motor Group become the third largest automaker in the world through their aggressive adoption of technology including their acquisition of Boston Dynamics, their joint venture with Aptiv, and now their investment in us.”
Hyundai Motor Group created a Semiconductor Development Group. This group focuses on developing specialized semiconductors for their advanced vehicles through partnerships with external companies.
Founded in 2016, Tenstorrent focuses on designing and developing advanced processors to accelerate AI and ML workloads. Tenstorrent aims to create efficient and high-performance hardware solutions that enable deep learning at scale.
Jim Keller, the CEO of Tenstorrent, is a highly respected figure in the semiconductor industry. With a wealth of experience in chip design and architecture, Keller has made significant contributions to the development of microprocessors. His expertise lies in CPU and system architecture design.
Tenstorrent is partnering with the Group to enter the automotive industry. They have strong expertise in AI semiconductors and a clear development strategy.