By Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL (Reuters) - Canadian startup Tenstorrent and BOS Semiconductors, a South Korean chip startup backed by Hyundai Motor Group, unveiled on Thursday artificial intelligence (AI) chips used for in-vehicle infotainment and autonomous driving.

As autos increasingly become 'computers on wheels', demand has grown for AI chips to handle high performance workloads necessary for complex features.

The chips are the industry's first "automotive chiplet AI accelerator", Park Jae-hong, founder of BOS Semiconductors, told Reuters.

Chiplets – small chips combined into a large system like LEGO blocks - allow automakers to customise the system to meet their needs and reduce costs by updating specific functionalities, he said.

Park said BOS Semiconductors is in talks with unidentified German automakers to supply the products, called "Eagle-N", which will debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and go into production in late 2026.

BOS will carve out the niche market as it challenges chip giants such as Qualcomm in automotive AI chips, he said.

Park previously worked for Samsung Electronics, where he developed chips for Apple and Tesla.

It will be produced using one of Samsung's advanced manufacturing processes, known as 5nm.

Tenstorrent is headed by Jim Keller, a former Apple chip designer who also oversaw Tesla's efforts to design a chip for autonomous driving. Tenstorrent has attracted investors such as Hyundai Motor Group, Samsung and Jeff Bezos’ family office.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)