Fireside chat: Essential vehicle technologies for the software-defined vehicle (SDV) Era, Chiplet SoC on automotive chiplets

In recent years, automobiles are expected not only to fulfill their standalone functions such as driving and transporting, but also to expand their value through integration with social systems.

To realize this, it is essential to adopt advanced technologies such as connected features, utilization of AI, function updates and additions via OTA (Over-the-Air), and functional integration to synchronize several systems. Software leads this evolution to change the vehicle’s design and development, known as Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs).

In SDV development, software development is of course crucial, but so are the design of E/E architecture and semiconductors.
Especially in semiconductors, to support integrated control systems and the evolution of AI models, advancements in communication performance, computing power, and memory capacity are required.
At the same time, customers also demand simpler and more cost-reasonable vehicles, which calls for SoCs with broader scalability than ever before.

However, scaling up SoCs functions and performance challenges such as increased development volume, impact on manufacturing quality due to chip size, and balancing cost and volume to ensure scalability.
We think Chiplet SoC would be one of the solutions to address these issues.

In Japan, six OEMs, three Tier 1 suppliers, and five semiconductor-related companies have established ASRA (Advanced SoC Research for Automotive) to study specifications for automotive Chiplets.

On the day of ITF Japan 2025, I hope to share ASRA’s motivations and discuss the importance of future industry standardization.