Samsung’s Taylor plant to produce Tenstorrent’s AI processors

 

Samsung's chip factory in Taylor, Texas under construction [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Samsung’s chip factory in Taylor, Texas under construction [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Samsung Electronics’ chip factory in Taylor, Texas will manufacture advanced AI processors designed by Tenstorrent, a Canadian semiconductor company, the chipmaker announced Monday.

It marks the second publicly-announced deal at the new factory, following an order fromΒ U.S.-based AI chip designer Groq in August.

β€œThe chiplets will be manufactured using Samsung’s state-of-the-art SF4X process, which boasts an impressive 4 nanometer architecture,” Tenstorrent said in a statement.

Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent [TENSTORRENT]
Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent [TENSTORRENT]

β€œTenstorrent’s focus is on developing high performance compute [sic] and delivering these solutions to customers around the world,” said Jim Keller, CEO of Tenstorrent.

β€œSamsung Foundry’s commitment to advancing semiconductor technology aligns with our vision for advancing RISC-V and AI and makes them ideal partners to bring our AI chiplets to market,” the CEO said.

As an AIΒ tech startup, Tenstorrent has acquired a number of intellectual propertiesΒ including a technology for neural processing units which is vital for the commercialization of self-driving vehicles. The company is valued atΒ $1 billion.

Tenstorrent has attracted investment from multiple Korean companies with the aim of securing high-end automotive chips in autonomous driving.

Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund along with other investors funded $100 million in August. LG Electronics also announced in May that it will collaborate with Tenstorrent for its product lines, mainly for connected televisions and automotive chips.

β€œSamsung Foundry is expanding in the U.S., and we are committed to serving our customers with the best available semiconductor technology,” said Marco Chisari, head of Samsung’s U.S. Foundry business. β€œSamsung’s advanced silicon manufacturing nodes will accelerate Tenstorrent’s innovations in RISC-V and AI for data centers and automotive solutions.”

The chip factory in Taylor is Samsung’s chip manufacturing project worth up to $25 billion, aiming to embark on mass production by the latter half of next year.

BY PARK HAE-LEE [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]