By Jane Lanhee Lee
OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) – Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Technologies, Inc on Wednesday unveiled an in-car processor chip called the Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC that handles both assisted driving and cabin functions, including entertainment.
Previously, these functions were handled on separate chips, and merging them can help reduce costs, said Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm’s head of automotive.
“Obviously you are reducing the number of physical boxes. So it comes down to a single box. Reduce the amount of memory you need. The additional external components that you need, those come down,” Duggal told Reuters.
Qualcomm has been steadily growing its automotive business in recent years, and in September said its automotive business “pipeline” increased to $30 billion.
With electric vehicles and the increase in autonomous features of cars, the number of chips used by car manufacturers is increasing, and the automotive market has been a key growth area for chip manufacturers.
Duggal said the new chip is already being tested by automotive customers and will be commercially available in the first half of next year.
(Reporting by Jane Lanhee Lee; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
