SEOUL, Dec 12 (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 ( QCOM ) 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)