Semiconductors will account for more than 20% of the total premium vehicle bill of materials (BoM) by 2030.
This is the prediction from Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who points out that represents a staggering five-times growth rate over 2019’s 4% figure.
This comes amid increasing demand for semiconductors generally, he adds.
Gelsinger predicts that the total addressable market (TAM) for automotive semiconductors will nearly double by the end of the decade to $115-billion, accounting for more than 11% of the entire silicon TAM.
This trend is being driven by what Gelsinger calls “the digitisation of everything” and four superpowers – ubiquitous compute, pervasive connectivity, cloud-to-edge infrastructure, and AI – that are permeating the automotive and mobility industries.
Gelsinger describes the situation as both a massive challenge and enormous opportunity – and the perfect time for Intel to step up to the plate.
“This new era of sustained demand for semiconductors needs bold, big thinking. As CEO of Intel, I have the great privilege to be in a position to marshal the energies of 116 000 employees and a massive chip-design and manufacturing ecosystem, to meet the demand.”
To make his point, Gelsinger says Intel has plans to build at least two new semiconductor factories in Europe, with plans for future investments that could reach 80-billion euros over the next decade.
Intel Foundry Services, announced in March, is actively engaged in discussions with potential customers in Europe – including automotive companies and their suppliers.
Today, the majority of automotive chips are manufactured using legacy process technologies. As automotive applications transition to rely on more high-performance processing, chips are also beginning to migrate to more advanced process technologies.
Intel is partnering with leading automotive players and committing significant resources in Europe to help drive this transition around the globe in the coming years.
The company has now announced to establish committed foundry capacity at its fab in Ireland and launch the Intel Foundry Services Accelerator to help automotive chip designers transition to advanced nodes. For this, the company is standing up a new design team and offering both custom and industry-standard intellectual property (IP) to support the unique needs of automotive customers.
Meanwhile, Amnon Shashua, CEO of Intel subsidiary Mobileye, says that, like Intel, Mobileye shares “the dream of autonomy – anywhere, anytime, for everybody.
“Mobileye is passionate about bringing autonomous vehicles to consumers,” Shashua says. “The new Mobileye AV, accessible through the MoovitAV service, is an important milestone on the way to a driverless world.”