Continental invests in AI start-up Recogni

The increasing connectivity and automation of modern vehicle systems aim at highly technological sensor technology that can perceive its environment even more finely and precisely. Continental has recognized this as well and acquired a minority stake in the German-American start-up Recogni. The chip manufacturer specializes in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of Autonomous Driving, enabling real-time object recognition. Together with Continental, they aim to work on a new chip architecture for future vehicle generations to enable faster processing of sensor data through the new processors and to further advance automated and autonomous driving step by step.

Rising Demand

Future chip generations are expected to process several gigabytes of data within seconds, with a significantly higher density of chips in the vehicle than previously. Continental speaks of a multitude of high-resolution environmental sensors, such as radar, camera, and Lidar, where previously only a "simple black-and-white camera" was installed.

"Without fast chips, no connectivity, no automation, and no autonomous driving," says Frank Petznick, Head of the Continental Driver Assistance Systems business unit. "With our own research for new chip designs, strategic partnerships with major chip manufacturers like NVIDIA, and the investment in Recogni, we are laying the foundation for meeting the future need for highly specialized processors for sensor modules and control units and for our powerful high-performance computers in the vehicle."

Potential and Feasibility

The technological alliance was initiated by Continental's own start-up co-pace. The company speaks of a "worldwide team of technology experts" who became aware of Recogni and have been working closely together for the past 18 months to test both the technical realization and theoretical effectiveness of the new chip architecture.

"It's all still theoretical, but our simulations show that we can expect a many-times faster evaluation of our sensor data once the Recogni chips are in use for the first time," comments Annika Ratte-Front, Head of Artificial Intelligence at Continental's ADAS business unit.

According to Continental, the new chip approach is expected to go into series production starting in 2026. Both Continental and Recogni have agreed not to disclose the amount of the investment.