Honda and IBM sign semiconductor R&D MoU

The application of intelligence/AI technologies is expected to accelerate widely in 2030 and beyond, creating new opportunities for the development of SDVs. Honda and IBM anticipate that SDVs will dramatically increase the design complexity, processing performance, and corresponding power consumption of semiconductors compared to conventional mobility products. In order to solve anticipated challenges and realise highly competitive SDVs, it is critical to develop capabilities in the independent research and development of next-generation computing technologies. Based on this understanding, the two companies began considering long-term joint research and development opportunities.

In particular, the MOU outlines areas of potential joint research of specialised semiconductor technologies such as brain-inspired computing and chiplet technologies, with the aim to dramatically improve processing performance while, simultaneously, decreasing power consumption. Hardware and software co-optimisation is important to ensure high performance and fast time to market. To achieve such benefits and manage design complexity for future SDVs, the two companies also plan to explore open and flexible software solutions.

Through this collaboration, the two companies would strive to realise SDVs that feature the world’s top-level computing and power-saving performance.