Samsung may supply chips to Tesla for its self-driving cars

Samsung may manufacture chips for self-driving features in Tesla vehicles, according to Korean media reports.

While both companies have not issued any official statement regarding the potential contract, a report in Korean publication Electronic Times claims Samsung is looking to make its debut as an automobile vendor through this deal. The Korean smartphone maker has reportedly signed a contract with Tesla to build an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) system – which means it will build its own System on Chip (Soc) with Samsung semiconductors.

Although Samsung recently acquired Harman International Industries for about $8b (£6.36b) their own semiconductors are yet to make their way into automobiles.

As for Tesla it had recently announced that all its vehicles will be autopilot equipped even though some of them may not have the feature activated immediately. Tesla has thus been on the hunt for several partners to work on this self-driving technology.

Samsung, on the other hand, is trying to build auto-related sales for components such as semiconductors and displays in a push to generate new revenue streams than its usual smartphone and electronic line-ups. Apart from these, its acquisition of Harman – which is one of the world's leading infotainment companies with a market share of around 17.5% – will help the company make a confident entry into the market.