Waymo Chip For Robotaxi — 1000+ TOPS On TSMC 5nm Process.

Waymo has built its own chip to power its robotaxis. It runs at over 1,000 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), and is made by TSMC using their 5nm process. This is equivalent to Nvidia’s offerings for autopilot systems. Waymo previously used Nvidia and AMD chips. This chip is already deployed in Waymo’s newest cars, and will be used in their next robotaxi, which they are developing with Zeekr.

Waymo joins Apple, Google, Amazon, and Tesla as yet another company seeking to break free from their dependence on external silicon. Many companies pursuing edge AI — be it in cars, data centers, or phones — have realized that the total cost of ownership for a general-purpose chip is simply too great. By building their own chip, Waymo can iterate more quickly on their custom sensor suite, without being held back by someone else’s product roadmap.