DETROIT, May 29 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) and MediaTek Inc (2454.TW) on Monday said they will collaborate on technology to power advanced vehicle infotainment systems that can stream video or games or interact with drivers using artificial intelligence.
Under the agreement, announced at the Computex technology trade show in Taipei, MediaTek will integrate an Nvidia graphic processing unit chiplet and Nvidia software into the system-on-chips it supplies to automakers for infotainment displays.
MediaTek systems using Nvidia software would be compatible with automated driving systems based on Nvidia technology, the companies said. Dashboard displays could show the environment around the vehicle, while cameras would monitor the driver.
In-vehicle displays and entertainment systems are becoming more complex as automakers add features such as gaming, artificial intelligence for voice-activated features, driver monitoring systems and displays related to automated driving.
Qualcomm, MediaTek's chief rival in the smartphone market, has also been courting automakers. Qualcomm and SalesForce earlier this year announced a partnership to develop a new connected vehicle platform.
The partnership with MediaTek gives Nvidia wider access to the $12 billion market for infotainment system-on-chips, the companies said.
Nvidia has focused on premium automotive brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover. MediaTek, which has its base in the Android smartphone chip sector, sells its Dimensity Auto technology to lower-priced, mass market vehicle lines, and has strengths in mobile connectivity and Android systems.
"There are a lot of segments they are addressing that Nvidia has not addressed," said Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's vice president, automotive.
The companies did not identify future automotive customers.
Reporting By Joe White; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Joseph White
Thomson Reuters
Joe White is a global automotive correspondent for Reuters, based in Detroit. Joe covers a wide range of auto and transport industry subjects, writes The Auto File, a three-times weekly newsletter about the global auto industry. Joe joined Reuters in January 2015 as the transportation editor leading coverage of planes, trains and automobiles, and later became global automotive editor. Previously, he served as the global automotive editor of the Wall Street Journal, where he oversaw coverage of the auto industry and ran the Detroit bureau. Joe is co-author (with Paul Ingrassia) of Comeback: The Fall and Rise of the American Automobile Industry, and he and Paul shared the Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting in 1993.
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