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AI chips have been central to Tesla's autonomous vehicle ecosystem since the company's inception. These chips handle the heavy-duty task of running local inference—the process by which AI systems interpret sensor data and make real-time decisions as vehicles operate in dynamic environments.
AI5 represents a significant evolution in Tesla’s chip design. Previously, Tesla maintained separate teams: one (the Dojo team) focused on building infrastructure for AI training and larger data processing, while another specialized in designing AI chips for deployment in vehicles. Recently, Tesla merged these teams into a unified AI fabrication group, dedicated solely to developing next-generation chips—namely AI5 and the upcoming AI6.