Tesla and Samsung Strengthen Chip Alliance with AI4+ Production Plans

Tesla is doubling down on its partnership with Samsung Foundry, handing over production of yet another generation of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) hardware. The Korean firm will produce the automaker’s newly announced AI4 Plus chip, also known as AI4.1, in 2027. Samsung already makes Tesla’s current AI4 chips and has also secured deals to produce the upcoming AI5 and AI6.

Samsung and Tesla deepen their foundry relations

The current crop of Tesla vehicles uses the AI4 FSD hardware featuring a two-chip architecture. Well, as reported by Electrek, some recent models run on a more advanced AI4.5, which employs a three-chip design. Now, the company has announced AI4.1 (or AI4 Plus), an upgraded version of the original AI4 with increased memory, higher bandwidth, and stronger compute performance.

According to Elon Musk, the new hardware will double the RAM from 16GB to 32GB per chip, which means a total system memory of 64GB. Musk believes this will be sufficient for human-level autonomous driving. Tesla also recently completed the design process for AI5, which will go into the company’s Optimus humanoid robots and AI data centers. Samsung and TSMC will jointly produce the chip, potentially in 2028.

Of course, as the self-driving technology evolves, AI5 could eventually make its way into Tesla vehicles. But for now, Tesla cars may continue to rely on the company’s AI4, AI4.1, and AI4.5 chips.

As mentioned, the American automaker has also signed a long-term agreement with Samsung for the production of its future AI6 chip. The deal, which reportedly runs through 2033, was initially valued at over $16 billion. However, that figure could rise significantly depending on production volumes and evolving requirements.

In parallel, Tesla has recently quadrupled its DRAM supply agreement with Samsung. This is another clear signal of how deeply integrated the two companies have become across both compute and memory in Tesla’s expanding AI ecosystem.