This is a fantastic move! I have no doubt that Rob Telson will accelorate BrainChip's ecosystem efforts across all verticals and stakeholders. There is a HUGE web of collaborations and partnerships driving innovation right now. I have a feeling Rob will be extremely busy.
This might provide a bit of an indication of what he'll be dealing with.
The Partnerships Shaping The Future Of Autonomous Driving
November 24, 2021
Autonomous driving development has been a significant challenge for major players in the mobility space.
Building and training driverless vehicles requires significant up-front investment, and the technology has yet to yield a profit.
In response, automakers are increasingly looking at partnership opportunities to pool resources and minimize the financial burden associated with autonomous vehicle (AV) development.
40+ Corporations Working On Autonomous Vehicles
Using CB Insights data, we identified over 40 companies developing road-going self-driving vehicles. Download our report to read all about them.
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In addition to partnering with each other, automakers are teaming up with Tier 1 suppliers and full-stack AV developers. AV developers are especially eager to work with auto incumbents, as automakers and suppliers have the manufacturing expertise and capabilities to scale that can help these companies commercialize their technology.
We used CB Insights’ Business Relationship data to illustrate the dynamic web of partnerships underlying the autonomous vehicle ecosystem.
Please click to enlarge.
For the purposes of this visualization, we focus on partnerships, investments, M&A, and joint ventures across automakers, Tier 1 suppliers, full-stack autonomous driving developers (e.g., Cruise, Waymo), big tech, and mobility service providers (e.g., Lyft).
We exclude companies working on specific components of autonomous driving such as perception, mapping, and simulation. We also exclude partnerships for Baidu from the graphic given its vast number of partnerships, which are discussed later in this brief.
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Startups building a next-generation mobility ecosystem, using technology to improve connectivity, safety, convenience, and efficiency in vehicles. Includes technologies such as ADAS and autonomous driving, connected vehicles, fleet telematics, V2V/V2X, and vehicle cybersecurity.
PARTNERSHIP TRENDS
Tier 1 suppliers partner with AV companies to stay competitive
Legacy Tier 1 suppliers are rapidly partnering with new autonomous driving companies to provide solutions for the future of autonomous vehicles.
While automakers are largely partnering with full-stack AV developers, Tier 1s have teamed up with full-stack AV developers and companies building the hardware and software components of autonomous driving systems. Because Tier 1s have experience in serving automotive OEMs and mass production, these relationships are mutually beneficial.
For example, Germany-based Tier 1 supplier
ZF partnered with Intel’s
Mobileye in 2021 to provide advanced safety systems for new Toyota vehicles using ZF’s camera and radar and Mobileye’s EyeQ4 chip. The company has also partnered with
Ibeo and
Aeva for lidar solutions, as well as
TuSimple and
Locomation for autonomous trucking solutions. ZF has invested in and partnered with autonomous driving software company
Oxbotica to develop Level 4 self-driving shuttles.
Many automotive suppliers are taking a similar approach. Earlier this year, France-based auto parts supplier
Valeo announced that it was strengthening its partnership with
Navya to release Level 4 autonomous driving systems. Meanwhile, Continental teamed up with lidar startup
AEye to integrate its lidar into
Continental’s full-stack sensor solution.
Other Tier 1s are working directly with OEMs to create autonomous driving tech. In 2020, for example, Hyundai and Aptiv created the joint venture
Motional to develop Level 4 self-driving passenger vehicles. More recently, the company unveiled its robotaxi built on Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 EV, which it plans to launch in multiple US markets in 2023.
With autonomous vehicle tech reaching an inflection point, automakers, suppliers, AV developers, and big tech firms are partnering to bring self-driving solutions to market. Using CB Insights’ Business Relationships data, we map out the complex web of partnerships in the space.
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