U.S. chipmaker Nvidia to provide AI platform for Chinese EV start-ups – Reuters
What happened: Chipmaker Nvidia will provide its computing platform and Xavier, the company’s leading AI chip, to Chinese autonomous driving startups XPeng and Singulauto. With Nvidia’s help, XPeng hopes to equip its products with Level 3 autonomous driving starting from 2020. Singulauto aims to partner with Nvidia to accelerate development and application of Level 4 autonomous driving.
Why it’s important: Global fundamental tech and infrastructure suppliers are increasingly entering into China’s IoT and industrial sectors. The sectors are part of China’s national strategy to upgrade public and micro infrastructure and facilities. China wants to build a broad range of domestic use cases. Partnerships with global solution providers can help it achieve that goal by providing the talent and tech knowhow that China lacks.