The PlusVision perception software running on Ambarella CV3 series SoCs can detect driving conditions up to … (+)
Ambarella, a maker of edge AI and vision processors for autonomous vehicles, will integrate Plus’ AI-driven perception software into its passenger car SoCs as part of a recently announced partnership. Each of the two Silicon Valley companies has years of experience supplying Tier 1 parts suppliers and the automakers themselves with key products for various levels of driving automation.
Perception is a particularly important area of technology in this context because, as the name suggests, it determines how an autonomous vehicle perceives the world around it. To do this, the vehicle must receive real-time information about other vehicles, traffic patterns, the road it is driving on, and other important environmental factors.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the industry trends behind this deal and then dive into the specifics of Plus and Ambarella.
When it comes to autonomous vehicles, manufacturers want adaptability
The autonomous vehicle market is becoming increasingly exciting. Companies like Tesla, GM, and Ford offer their own autonomy systems for their respective autonomous vehicles. These companies and their competitors are always looking for better autonomy offerings, which puts pressure on manufacturers of autonomous subsystems – including perception solutions – to constantly improve their products. In this context, both software and hardware must continue to improve rapidly to accommodate each new platform generation. In addition, automakers are looking for perception solutions with built-in adaptability to fit into the rapidly evolving autonomous space and keep up with its rate of change.
Automakers want to reduce time to market through shorter development cycles while controlling costs for faster time to market. They also want versatile solutions that support a wide range of hardware platforms and sensor configurations, allowing OEMs to leverage the best hardware and software available.
Solutions that meet this demand will also make OEMs’ and automakers’ supply chains more resilient, as manufacturers can source components from multiple sources in the event of supply shortages. This approach also prevents them from locking into an inflexible hardware-software package. Looking ahead, automakers want scalable solutions that can cover the full range of customer requirements, allowing autonomy to be extended to L3 (conditional automation) or even L4 (high automation) systems. In other words, they want future-proof solutions.
The logic behind Ambarella’s partnership with Plus
Ambarella is an edge AI semiconductor company that offers a family of AI domain controllers under the CV3 brand. Founded in 2004, Ambarella supplied equipment for HD broadcast infrastructure and high-end security cameras before applying its machine vision expertise to automotive applications. Ambarella says its CV3-AD SoC family now offers industry-leading AI performance per watt.
Plus is an autonomous driving technology provider that uses transformer-based AI models to replace rules and code in the development of autonomous driving systems. Plus says its perception product, PlusVision, offers OEMs an end-to-end solution that can accelerate ADAS software development. Crucially, PlusVision is designed to help OEMs achieve the future-proofing mentioned above by supporting L0 to L3 systems shipped today, as well as L4 systems already in development. Plus achieves this in part by remaining hardware agnostic, allowing it to leverage the best hardware for a given ADAS implementation. At this point, Plus’ AD stack and perception functionality benefit from millions of miles of real-world data collected on roads in Australia, the US and Europe.
The Ambarella-Plus partnership gives Plus an established partner for the passenger car space, which desperately needs an energy-efficient perception solution. Many of Plus’ existing products, including the SuperDrive self-driving system and PlusProtect safety system, were originally intended as truck solutions and already have customers or partnerships with heavy vehicle manufacturers or suppliers such as Hyundai, Bosch, Iveco and Traton Group. Ambarella also joins Nvidia, Texas Instruments and Qualcomm as hardware partners for perception solutions for automakers. By partnering with Ambarella, Plus expands the reach of its solutions and offers automakers and Tier 1 suppliers more hardware choices.
This partnership between Plus and Ambarella is likely to prove symbiotic as it brings benefits to all parties involved. It certainly helps strengthen both companies’ positions in the ADAS space while creating what is likely to be a best-in-class solution. Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs are now likely to pay more attention to both companies’ passenger car perception solutions, which would continue to give both companies more traction in this space. Given the hot market for AI investments and Plus’ recent commercial partnerships and customer wins, I would expect Plus to raise another round of funding before the IPO, which will likely be its last.
