Automotive Startup Activity Swelling


According to AngelList, there are at least 6,600 automotive startups, with a $4.6 million average valuation. 475 of those are electric vehicle startups with a $5 million average valuation. Indeed, the electrification of vehicles and move towards autonomous driving is having a huge impact, the likes of which the automotive industry has never seen. This is causing the car manufacturers and Tie... » read more

Automotive Foundries


The race to win a piece of the automotive electronics business has now reached the foundry level, and right now it's not clear exactly how this is going to work. This is uncharted territory for everyone. The build-out of electronics for assisted and autonomous driving is brand new. For existing cars, most of the chips being used are off-the-shelf microcontrollers, commodity MEMS sensors, and... » read more

China’s Ambitious Automotive Plans


China has big plans for cars—and other related markets. After years of trailing behind Japanese, European and U.S.-based carmakers in automotive technology, reliability, status, and even market share within its own political borders, the country is making a concerted push into internally developed and manufactured assisted- and self-driving vehicles. The strategy plays out well for China o... » read more

Big Trucks Go Electric, Autonomous


As the automotive ecosystem increases efforts across the board including commoditization as part of the ramp to autonomous vehicles, the news feed is replete with examples. In the area of big trucks, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), part of Daimler Trucks, said at the recent Tokyo Motor Show that it would electrify its complete range of trucks and buses in upcoming years. F... » read more

Faster Commoditization In Cars


Sensors are at the heart of assisted and autonomous driving, but even before these devices hit the road the average selling prices of these components will have to fall far enough to be affordable to a mass audience. Achieving economies of scale is what has made the semiconductor industry successful over the past half century. It has enabled semiconductors to proliferate and for electronics ... » read more

New Materials For Computing


The U.S. Department of Energy rolled out a new program to develop materials for "extreme conditions" for high-performance computing, setting the stage for much more mobile versions of AI and machine learning. This effort, if successful, has interesting implications on a number of levels. For one, the DOE's mandate includes everything from energy security to weaponry, and high-performance com... » read more

Get Ready For The Uber-Like Economy


The shift to autonomous cars will have far-reaching effects that go well beyond the loss of a steering wheel. In fact, it could completely shake up the automotive ecosystem and broad swaths of the economy that were largely built around and in cars. Carmakers are now trying squeeze every penny out of the cost of electronics for assisted and ultimately autonomous vehicles to get that price som... » read more

Testing Autonomous Vehicles


After I wrote last month about my concerns about the pending legislation that appears to relax safety regulations for autonomous vehicles being tested on public roads, it seems I am not alone and some safety groups have also expressed concern. Of course, the promise of autonomous driving is exciting and will absolutely save lives — when the technology and infrastructure are ready — there... » read more

How To Make Autonomous Vehicles Reliable


The number of unknowns in automotive chips, subsystems and entire vehicles is growing as higher levels of driver assistance are deployed, sparking new concerns and approaches about how to improve reliability of these systems. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) will need to detect objects, animals and people, and they will be used for parking assistance, night vision and collision avoi... » read more

ADAS Vehicles Will Hit Roads Soon. Should They?


Adding fuel to the flurry of activity surrounding autonomous vehicles, yesterday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve Bill 3388: ‘To amend title 49, United States Code, regarding the authority of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over highly automated vehicles, to provide safety measures for such vehicles, and for other purposes.’ The... » read more

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