Waymo develops custom ASIC chip to improve robotaxi performance.
Waymo, which operates robotaxi services in multiple cities, has developed a custom
A look under our trunk: what's in our compute
https://waymo.com/blog/2026/08/look-under-our-trunk/
Alphabet's Waymo Has Built a Custom Chip for Its Robotaxis - Bloomberg
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https://www.theverge.com/transportation/982653/waymo-brain-computer-chip-robotaxi-hardware-suppliers
Robotaxis need to quickly process the surrounding environment captured by sensors and cameras as they move towards their destination. Until now, Waymo's robotaxis have used off-the-shelf components for processing, but in order to optimize the process, they have switched to using ASIC chips built on TSMC's 5nm technology. In order to use ASIC chips, Waymo is reviewing both the physical and architectural designs.
This chip is one of the custom components developed by Waymo, and is a machine learning-specific processor designed specifically to process and integrate raw sensor data in real time and run advanced neural networks. It can deliver ML performance exceeding 1000 TOPS on its own, but its performance is maximized, especially in low-batch environments with high operational loads.
The following photos demonstrate the high recognition capability in low-light environments. The left shows a conventional camera, while the right shows the latest system, which simultaneously processes high-resolution data obtained from 13 high-resolution cameras in real time.
According to Waymo, each robotaxis will be equipped with two ASIC chips for redundancy purposes to ensure passenger safety even if hardware fails.
Waymo will also be presenting further details about its initiatives at the 'Hot Chips' conference, which will be held from August 23, 2026.
Advance Program (subject to change) - Hot Chips
https://hotchips.org/advance-program/
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