Nvidia has long been involved in the development of autonomous vehicle technologies, providing the industry with graphics processing units that can perform millions of calculations simultaneously. Now the semiconductor powerhouse is upping its AV game by seeking a talent push in China.
The company is hiring two dozen roles for a self-driving team across Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, according to a Position on his official WeChat account on Tuesday. The unit, consisting of positions in software, end-to-end platform, system integration, mapping and product, is headed by Xinzhou Wu, who is recognized for bringing intelligent driving features to mass-produced vehicles in China in recent years. .
In August, Nvidia hired Wu, the former head of autonomous vehicles at Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle maker often compared to Tesla for its commitment to intelligent driving. According to Wu’s LinkedIn Profilejoined as Nvidia’s head of automotive and serves on the executive staff team reporting directly to Jensen Huang, the chip giant’s founder and CEO.
Nvidia enjoys a critical position in the self-driving space thanks to its powerful graphics cards. In September last year, the company introduced the latest generation of its automotive-grade chip, known as Thor, which has a performance of 2,000 teraflops.
It’s no surprise that Nvidia has designated China as a major hub for its AV efforts. Fierce competition in the country’s auto industry has led many electric car makers to invest in autonomous driving, creating a talent pool with experience in taking the technology from R&D to mass production.
Indeed, Wu, who serves as head of AV at Nvidia and personally leads the China AV team, hinted at the country’s critical role in potentially fueling the company’s commercial success in smart driving. According to his statement included in the ad:
“We hope that the Chinese self-driving team can become the key force in promoting the commercialization of Nvidia’s self-driving products, leveraging the country’s talent and experience to create self-driving products for the global market.”
Nvidia’s relationship with China is tenuous. Under US export controls, the chip giant is currently banned from exporting its most powerful AI GPUs to China, one of its biggest markets, although its automotive products are currently unaffected.
Led by Wu, Nvidia’s AV team runs wide-ranging operations to “design, build and develop” AI systems for automation and autonomous vehicles, according to the post. Specifically, the unit performs AI training and testing work as well as real-time data processing in vehicles, which can include robotaxis, commercial fleets and passenger cars.
Wu’s work had the blessing of his former boss. In a Weibo post announcing Wu’s departure, Xpeng founder and CEO He Xiaopeng expressed pride in his former employee for landing a “top-level management role” at a “world-renowned company,” which it turned out to be Nvidia.
On social media, He and Wu each hinted at a relationship between Xpeng and Nvidia in the semiconductor sector. In a photo was posted by Wu the day before he started at Nvidia, he was flanked by Huang and He, suggesting a close collaboration between the two companies.
“Tomorrow is my first day at Nvidia and I appreciate Xiaopeng personally accompanying me here. According to Old Huang [Jensen Huang]I will still work for Xiaopeng in the future without him having to pay my salary,” Wu wrote in the post.
TechCrunch has reached out to Nvidia for comment on the hiring announcement.
