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Tesla is planning to increase its reliance on outside technology partners such as Nvidia and Samsung Electronics. Photo: Bloomberg . |
The Dojo team recently lost about 20 employees to a new startup called DensityAI, according to internal sources who spoke to Bloomberg . Dojo leader Peter Bannon is leaving the company. The remaining engineers are being reassigned to other data center and computing projects within Tesla.
According to sources, instead of continuing to invest heavily in internal chip development, Tesla will increase its dependence on external technology partners such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices for computing power, and Samsung Electronics for chip manufacturing.
The shutdown of the Dojo program is a major change for an effort that has been in the works for years and was once seen as the centerpiece of Tesla’s multibillion-dollar investment plan to boost its AI capabilities.
The Dojo system is a supercomputer designed by Tesla that is used to train machine learning models for Autopilot, Full Self-Driving, and the Optimus humanoid robot. It processes data collected from Tesla vehicles to improve the company's algorithms. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated that Dojo could add $500 billion to Tesla's market value in 2023.
Meanwhile, DensityAI, which has just attracted many employees from Dojo, is about to officially launch and is developing chips, hardware, and software for AI data centers. The company's technology is aimed at applications in robotics, AI agents, car technology, and many other fields. DensityAI was founded by Ganesh Venkataramanan, former head of Dojo, along with two former Tesla employees, Bill Chang and Ben Floering.
Tesla shares continued to fall slightly in after-hours trading after news of the Dojo group's dissolution broke, trading nearly 1% lower as of 5:29 p.m. (US time).
According to Bloomberg , this is the latest development in a wave of "brain drain" at Tesla this year. The company is facing fierce competition, falling sales and negative consumer reactions related to Elon Musk's political activities.
A number of senior executives have left this year, including Milan Kovac, head of engineering for the Optimus robot, and David Lau, vice president of software engineering. In June, Omead Afshar, one of Musk's longtime aides, abruptly left the company.
Despite the closure of the Dojo project, Tesla is still investing in its semiconductor capabilities. Last month, the company reached a $16.5 billion deal with Samsung to secure a supply of AI chips through 2033. The new Texas factory will be responsible for Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chips, helping the company diversify its supply chain beyond its traditional partner TSMC.
During the company’s recent quarterly earnings call, Elon Musk hinted at the merger of internal technology with external partners. “When I think about Dojo 3 and the AI6 inference chip, my intuition is that we should find a convergence point where they’re both the same chip,” Musk said.
In fact, Tesla’s CEO has admitted that the company may not pursue Dojo forever. “We’re going down both paths — Nvidia and Dojo,” Musk said in January 2024. “But I think Dojo is a gamble. It’s a long-term move that’s worth taking because the potential payoff is huge.”
Source: https://znews.vn/tin-soc-voi-tesla-post1575092.html
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