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Tesla signs .5B deal with Samsung to make AI chips | TechCrunch

Tesla signs $16.5B deal with Samsung to make AI chips | TechCrunch

Tesla has signed a $16.5 billion deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung. 

“Samsung’s giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip,” Elon Musk posted on X late Sunday evening. “The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate.”

Tesla’s AI6 (AKA Hardware 6) chip is the company’s bet on an all-in-one chip design that can scale from powering its driver assistance system known as Full Self-Driving (Supervised) to Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robots, all the way to high-performance AI training in data centers. 

Musk noted Tesla is working with TSMC to make AI5 chips, which just finished the design. The A15, a generation that is primarily built for FSD. will initially be made in TSMC’s Taiwan factory and then at its Arizona facility. Samsung already makes the A14 chip, according to Musk.

The deal is a boost for Samsung, which struggled to get its chip-making project off the ground after failing to attract and retain major clients. Musk said in another post that Tesla may end up spending more than $16.5 billion on Samsung chips. 

“Actual output is likely to be several times higher,” he said.

In a later post, Musk said Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency.

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“This is a critical point, as I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress. And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house,” Musk wrote.

Tesla switched over from Nvidia’s Drive platform to its own custom chip in 2019. That chip, known as the FSD Computer (FSDC) or Hardware 3, launched that year in all of its EVs. The FSDC, made by Samsung, consists of two duplicate systems right next to each other on one board — a design choice meant to create redundancy required for any automated driving system.

Since then, the company’s attention to its customs chips has expanded along with its ambitions. The AI chips are the centerpiece of Tesla’s push to move from an automaker to an AI and robotics company. 

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#Tesla #signs #16.5B #deal #Samsung #chips #TechCrunch

Letterboxd has surged in popularity in recent years. Once a niche site for only the most fervent of film nerds, the site — which allows users to rate, review, and recommend movies to one another — has continued to add accounts by the tens of millions, thanks largely to interest from millennials and Gen Z. Now, the company’s controlling investor has apparently made it known that they are looking to cash out.

Semafor reported Sunday that Canadian holding company Tiny, which owns some 60% of Letterboxd, has been courting various potential buyers, including Versant, the parent company of CNBC and MS NOW (formerly MSNBC). Another potential buyer is The Ankler, a popular Hollywood newsletter, according to Semafor. Tiny bought the platform in 2023, valuing it at over $50 million. It’s unclear whether the company has neared any sort of deal.

Representatives for Letterboxd and Tiny did not immediately provide comment when reached by TechCrunch.

Founded in 2011, Letterboxd saw a jump in users in the past few years, climbing to about 26 million users this year, up from 1.7 million in 2020, according to The New York Times. In recent years, the site has seen interest from movie studios, which see it both as a vehicle for marketing films and a source of information about moviegoer trends, as well as from the Oscars, which teamed up with the social platform in a digital content partnership several years ago.

#Letterboxd #social #platform #film #buffs #reportedly #owner #TechCrunchHollywood,In Brief,Letterboxd,media,movies">Letterboxd, the social platform for film buffs, reportedly looking for new owner | TechCrunch
Letterboxd has surged in popularity in recent years. Once a niche site for only the most fervent of film nerds, the site — which allows users to rate, review, and recommend movies to one another — has continued to add accounts by the tens of millions, thanks largely to interest from millennials and Gen Z. Now, the company’s controlling investor has apparently made it known that they are looking to cash out.

Semafor reported Sunday that Canadian holding company Tiny, which owns some 60% of Letterboxd, has been courting various potential buyers, including Versant, the parent company of CNBC and MS NOW (formerly MSNBC). Another potential buyer is The Ankler, a popular Hollywood newsletter, according to Semafor. Tiny bought the platform in 2023, valuing it at over  million. It’s unclear whether the company has neared any sort of deal.







Representatives for Letterboxd and Tiny did not immediately provide comment when reached by TechCrunch.

Founded in 2011, Letterboxd saw a jump in users in the past few years, climbing to about 26 million users this year, up from 1.7 million in 2020, according to The New York Times. In recent years, the site has seen interest from movie studios, which see it both as a vehicle for marketing films and a source of information about moviegoer trends, as well as from the Oscars, which teamed up with the social platform in a digital content partnership several years ago.
#Letterboxd #social #platform #film #buffs #reportedly #owner #TechCrunchHollywood,In Brief,Letterboxd,media,movies

niche site for only the most fervent of film nerds, the site — which allows users to rate, review, and recommend movies to one another — has continued to add accounts by the tens of millions, thanks largely to interest from millennials and Gen Z. Now, the company’s controlling investor has apparently made it known that they are looking to cash out.

Semafor reported Sunday that Canadian holding company Tiny, which owns some 60% of Letterboxd, has been courting various potential buyers, including Versant, the parent company of CNBC and MS NOW (formerly MSNBC). Another potential buyer is The Ankler, a popular Hollywood newsletter, according to Semafor. Tiny bought the platform in 2023, valuing it at over $50 million. It’s unclear whether the company has neared any sort of deal.

Representatives for Letterboxd and Tiny did not immediately provide comment when reached by TechCrunch.

Founded in 2011, Letterboxd saw a jump in users in the past few years, climbing to about 26 million users this year, up from 1.7 million in 2020, according to The New York Times. In recent years, the site has seen interest from movie studios, which see it both as a vehicle for marketing films and a source of information about moviegoer trends, as well as from the Oscars, which teamed up with the social platform in a digital content partnership several years ago.

#Letterboxd #social #platform #film #buffs #reportedly #owner #TechCrunchHollywood,In Brief,Letterboxd,media,movies">Letterboxd, the social platform for film buffs, reportedly looking for new owner | TechCrunch

Letterboxd has surged in popularity in recent years. Once a niche site for only the most fervent of film nerds, the site — which allows users to rate, review, and recommend movies to one another — has continued to add accounts by the tens of millions, thanks largely to interest from millennials and Gen Z. Now, the company’s controlling investor has apparently made it known that they are looking to cash out.

Semafor reported Sunday that Canadian holding company Tiny, which owns some 60% of Letterboxd, has been courting various potential buyers, including Versant, the parent company of CNBC and MS NOW (formerly MSNBC). Another potential buyer is The Ankler, a popular Hollywood newsletter, according to Semafor. Tiny bought the platform in 2023, valuing it at over $50 million. It’s unclear whether the company has neared any sort of deal.

Representatives for Letterboxd and Tiny did not immediately provide comment when reached by TechCrunch.

Founded in 2011, Letterboxd saw a jump in users in the past few years, climbing to about 26 million users this year, up from 1.7 million in 2020, according to The New York Times. In recent years, the site has seen interest from movie studios, which see it both as a vehicle for marketing films and a source of information about moviegoer trends, as well as from the Oscars, which teamed up with the social platform in a digital content partnership several years ago.

#Letterboxd #social #platform #film #buffs #reportedly #owner #TechCrunchHollywood,In Brief,Letterboxd,media,movies

Star Wars games love giving us the ultimate power fantasies of the galaxy far, far away: wielding lightsabers and the Force as Jedi, being ace pilots or wry smugglers, and stepping into the combat boots of front-line soldiers in galactic conflict. Its latest collaboration instead asks you to consider another, persistent element of the galaxy ticking away far, far beneath that: the life of a subservient droid.

This morning FuturLab announced a surprise new collaboration DLC for its beloved Powerwash Simulator sequel, letting you step into the galaxy far, far away to… well, powerwash things. The DLC casts you as a P0-W2 labor droid, tasked with cleaning up across the galaxy, from the Lars Homestead on Tatooine to Echo Base on Hoth and even inside the hangar bay of a Star Destroyer. You’ll be able to team up with friends, as with other Powerwash Simulator DLCs, because no droid should have to clean all the carbon scoring in the galaxy off of ships and surfaces alone.

FuturLab describes the Star Wars pack as seeing your poor droid taking menial assignments until that “quickly spirals into being commandeered to carry out the Empire’s dirty work, before clearing the way for the Rebel Alliance,” although it remains to be seen if there’ll actually be a narrative arc across its cleaning scenarios or if that’s just some flavorful setup.

But still, there is some potential for intriguing Star Wars commentary here, in that FuturLab makes your perspective that of a droid instead of just some lowly human on the bottom rung of these different factions’ pecking orders. Star Wars has always had an up and down history with how it treats droids as an underserved group. Droids’ quest for personhood and rights is regularly framed through the idea of what kind of labor is considered base enough to be below organic beings and instead consigned to an indentured droid class, who often almost solely exist, in some regards, to do this kind of work, rather than being allowed to exist as sentient beings in their own rights.

Even putting aside that this is perhaps the kind of video game fantasy we’ve never really seen play out in Star Wars before, perhaps it simply being a fantasy that we assign to a droid is commentary enough. You’ll be able to think about the plight of droid rights and also clean gunk off of an X-Wing when the Star Wars pack for Powerwash Simulator 2 launches this summer for $10.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Star #Wars #Game #Crossover #Fantasy #Menial #LaborDroids,Powerwash Simulator 2,Star Wars">The Next ‘Star Wars’ Game Crossover Gives You the Fantasy of Menial Labor
                Star Wars games love giving us the ultimate power fantasies of the galaxy far, far away: wielding lightsabers and the Force as Jedi, being ace pilots or wry smugglers, and stepping into the combat boots of front-line soldiers in galactic conflict. Its latest collaboration instead asks you to consider another, persistent element of the galaxy ticking away far, far beneath that: the life of a subservient droid. This morning FuturLab announced a surprise new collaboration DLC for its beloved Powerwash Simulator sequel, letting you step into the galaxy far, far away to… well, powerwash things. The DLC casts you as a P0-W2 labor droid, tasked with cleaning up across the galaxy, from the Lars Homestead on Tatooine to Echo Base on Hoth and even inside the hangar bay of a Star Destroyer. You’ll be able to team up with friends, as with other Powerwash Simulator DLCs, because no droid should have to clean all the carbon scoring in the galaxy off of ships and surfaces alone.

  FuturLab describes the Star Wars pack as seeing your poor droid taking menial assignments until that “quickly spirals into being commandeered to carry out the Empire’s dirty work, before clearing the way for the Rebel Alliance,” although it remains to be seen if there’ll actually be a narrative arc across its cleaning scenarios or if that’s just some flavorful setup. But still, there is some potential for intriguing Star Wars commentary here, in that FuturLab makes your perspective that of a droid instead of just some lowly human on the bottom rung of these different factions’ pecking orders. Star Wars has always had an up and down history with how it treats droids as an underserved group. Droids’ quest for personhood and rights is regularly framed through the idea of what kind of labor is considered base enough to be below organic beings and instead consigned to an indentured droid class, who often almost solely exist, in some regards, to do this kind of work, rather than being allowed to exist as sentient beings in their own rights.

 Even putting aside that this is perhaps the kind of video game fantasy we’ve never really seen play out in Star Wars before, perhaps it simply being a fantasy that we assign to a droid is commentary enough. You’ll be able to think about the plight of droid rights and also clean gunk off of an X-Wing when the Star Wars pack for Powerwash Simulator 2 launches this summer for .  Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.      #Star #Wars #Game #Crossover #Fantasy #Menial #LaborDroids,Powerwash Simulator 2,Star Wars

lightsabers and the Force as Jedi, being ace pilots or wry smugglers, and stepping into the combat boots of front-line soldiers in galactic conflict. Its latest collaboration instead asks you to consider another, persistent element of the galaxy ticking away far, far beneath that: the life of a subservient droid.

This morning FuturLab announced a surprise new collaboration DLC for its beloved Powerwash Simulator sequel, letting you step into the galaxy far, far away to… well, powerwash things. The DLC casts you as a P0-W2 labor droid, tasked with cleaning up across the galaxy, from the Lars Homestead on Tatooine to Echo Base on Hoth and even inside the hangar bay of a Star Destroyer. You’ll be able to team up with friends, as with other Powerwash Simulator DLCs, because no droid should have to clean all the carbon scoring in the galaxy off of ships and surfaces alone.

FuturLab describes the Star Wars pack as seeing your poor droid taking menial assignments until that “quickly spirals into being commandeered to carry out the Empire’s dirty work, before clearing the way for the Rebel Alliance,” although it remains to be seen if there’ll actually be a narrative arc across its cleaning scenarios or if that’s just some flavorful setup.

But still, there is some potential for intriguing Star Wars commentary here, in that FuturLab makes your perspective that of a droid instead of just some lowly human on the bottom rung of these different factions’ pecking orders. Star Wars has always had an up and down history with how it treats droids as an underserved group. Droids’ quest for personhood and rights is regularly framed through the idea of what kind of labor is considered base enough to be below organic beings and instead consigned to an indentured droid class, who often almost solely exist, in some regards, to do this kind of work, rather than being allowed to exist as sentient beings in their own rights.

Even putting aside that this is perhaps the kind of video game fantasy we’ve never really seen play out in Star Wars before, perhaps it simply being a fantasy that we assign to a droid is commentary enough. You’ll be able to think about the plight of droid rights and also clean gunk off of an X-Wing when the Star Wars pack for Powerwash Simulator 2 launches this summer for $10.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Star #Wars #Game #Crossover #Fantasy #Menial #LaborDroids,Powerwash Simulator 2,Star Wars">The Next ‘Star Wars’ Game Crossover Gives You the Fantasy of Menial LaborThe Next ‘Star Wars’ Game Crossover Gives You the Fantasy of Menial Labor
                Star Wars games love giving us the ultimate power fantasies of the galaxy far, far away: wielding lightsabers and the Force as Jedi, being ace pilots or wry smugglers, and stepping into the combat boots of front-line soldiers in galactic conflict. Its latest collaboration instead asks you to consider another, persistent element of the galaxy ticking away far, far beneath that: the life of a subservient droid. This morning FuturLab announced a surprise new collaboration DLC for its beloved Powerwash Simulator sequel, letting you step into the galaxy far, far away to… well, powerwash things. The DLC casts you as a P0-W2 labor droid, tasked with cleaning up across the galaxy, from the Lars Homestead on Tatooine to Echo Base on Hoth and even inside the hangar bay of a Star Destroyer. You’ll be able to team up with friends, as with other Powerwash Simulator DLCs, because no droid should have to clean all the carbon scoring in the galaxy off of ships and surfaces alone.

  FuturLab describes the Star Wars pack as seeing your poor droid taking menial assignments until that “quickly spirals into being commandeered to carry out the Empire’s dirty work, before clearing the way for the Rebel Alliance,” although it remains to be seen if there’ll actually be a narrative arc across its cleaning scenarios or if that’s just some flavorful setup. But still, there is some potential for intriguing Star Wars commentary here, in that FuturLab makes your perspective that of a droid instead of just some lowly human on the bottom rung of these different factions’ pecking orders. Star Wars has always had an up and down history with how it treats droids as an underserved group. Droids’ quest for personhood and rights is regularly framed through the idea of what kind of labor is considered base enough to be below organic beings and instead consigned to an indentured droid class, who often almost solely exist, in some regards, to do this kind of work, rather than being allowed to exist as sentient beings in their own rights.

 Even putting aside that this is perhaps the kind of video game fantasy we’ve never really seen play out in Star Wars before, perhaps it simply being a fantasy that we assign to a droid is commentary enough. You’ll be able to think about the plight of droid rights and also clean gunk off of an X-Wing when the Star Wars pack for Powerwash Simulator 2 launches this summer for $10.  Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.      #Star #Wars #Game #Crossover #Fantasy #Menial #LaborDroids,Powerwash Simulator 2,Star Wars

Star Wars games love giving us the ultimate power fantasies of the galaxy far, far away: wielding lightsabers and the Force as Jedi, being ace pilots or wry smugglers, and stepping into the combat boots of front-line soldiers in galactic conflict. Its latest collaboration instead asks you to consider another, persistent element of the galaxy ticking away far, far beneath that: the life of a subservient droid.

This morning FuturLab announced a surprise new collaboration DLC for its beloved Powerwash Simulator sequel, letting you step into the galaxy far, far away to… well, powerwash things. The DLC casts you as a P0-W2 labor droid, tasked with cleaning up across the galaxy, from the Lars Homestead on Tatooine to Echo Base on Hoth and even inside the hangar bay of a Star Destroyer. You’ll be able to team up with friends, as with other Powerwash Simulator DLCs, because no droid should have to clean all the carbon scoring in the galaxy off of ships and surfaces alone.

FuturLab describes the Star Wars pack as seeing your poor droid taking menial assignments until that “quickly spirals into being commandeered to carry out the Empire’s dirty work, before clearing the way for the Rebel Alliance,” although it remains to be seen if there’ll actually be a narrative arc across its cleaning scenarios or if that’s just some flavorful setup.

But still, there is some potential for intriguing Star Wars commentary here, in that FuturLab makes your perspective that of a droid instead of just some lowly human on the bottom rung of these different factions’ pecking orders. Star Wars has always had an up and down history with how it treats droids as an underserved group. Droids’ quest for personhood and rights is regularly framed through the idea of what kind of labor is considered base enough to be below organic beings and instead consigned to an indentured droid class, who often almost solely exist, in some regards, to do this kind of work, rather than being allowed to exist as sentient beings in their own rights.

Even putting aside that this is perhaps the kind of video game fantasy we’ve never really seen play out in Star Wars before, perhaps it simply being a fantasy that we assign to a droid is commentary enough. You’ll be able to think about the plight of droid rights and also clean gunk off of an X-Wing when the Star Wars pack for Powerwash Simulator 2 launches this summer for $10.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Star #Wars #Game #Crossover #Fantasy #Menial #LaborDroids,Powerwash Simulator 2,Star Wars

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