Tesla's AI5 chip design finalized and is ready to enter production, Samsung confirms

Back in mid-April, Elon Musk celebrated on X that Tesla's next-generation AI5 chip had completed the tape-out, meaning the design was finalized. But that tape-out was on Tesla's side, so now we have confirmation that Samsung has also finalized the chip design and is ready to enter production.

The tape-out process is two-sided. Once the chip designer has finished, the chip manufacturer needs to transform that blueprint into a final, production-ready design. And since Samsung officially confirmed that the tape-out process for the AI5 is finished, that means we can expect production to kick off by the end of this year, but mass production capacity won't be reached until at least mid-2027.

What's more interesting here is that Samsung confirmed that it's using the new 2nm-class SF2T manufacturing process. Up until now, the information on the manufacturing node was a bit fuzzy, with some sources claiming it's 3nm, while others point to 2nm.

Samsung's factory in Taylor, Texas, is tasked with producing Tesla's AI5 chips at its 2nm manufacturing lines, which means AI6 chips will also be based on the 2nm SF2T node.

And as we all know, Tesla's chips are crucial for the ADAS capabilities, which has stirred some controversy regarding FSD support on older hardware, so the company is likely trying to future-proof its chips as much as possible to avoid further setbacks.

Tesla, like other manufacturers, is looking to diversify its supply chains and partnering with two of the biggest semiconductor manufacturers, TSMC and Samsung, ensures a steady flow of chips regardless of the geopolitical tensions between China, Taiwan and the US.

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