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Hanover / Stuttgart / San José (dpa) - With a stake in Silicon Valley, Continental and Bosch want to accelerate the development of technologies for autonomous driving.
The company Recogni from San José (California) designs high-performance chips that also work with artificial intelligence (AI) methods.
It's about the detection of objects around the vehicle and faster processing of the data from the associated sensors.
"AI solutions in particular will play a greater role in autonomous driving," said Frank Petznick, Head of Driver Assistance Systems at Conti.
The processors are to become part of the control system in the medium term, and series production could begin in 2016.
Who will manufacture the hardware is currently still open.
Continental has been working with Recogni for a year and a half, and now the investment is pending.
In addition, the Hanoverians also maintain partnerships, for example in sensor technology.
Conti and Bosch do not name the exact extent to which they will join Recogni.
In total, the financing round has a volume of almost 50 million dollars.
The new chips still only exist as a concept - the simulations so far have convinced, according to Conti.
At Continental, electronics, networking and software are playing an increasingly central role, which is why we are investing and hiring heavily.
With technology from the US company Nvidia, the DAX company has been operating a supercomputer since last summer, which is also used in the development of robot car programs.
Classic areas such as mechanics and hydraulics, on the other hand, are losing importance in the ongoing restructuring of the company, and numerous jobs are being cut here.
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In Germany, the first regular operation with autonomous cars is to start gradually from next year, according to the Federal Government.
In addition to the suppliers, the car manufacturers themselves invest a lot of money in the technology.
Apple and Google are also investing.
The automotive industry is currently lacking supplies for the important semiconductors that are found in all microelectronics.
The companies hope that the supply will stabilize again soon.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210219-99-511945 / 3