Chipmaker STMicroelectronics and Germany-based automaker Volkswagen will co-develop a new semiconductor amid a global chip crunch.
Volkswagen software unit Cariad and STMicro are set to co-design the new chip, which will be part of the Stellar microcontroller family of semiconductors, STMicroelectronics said in a news statement on Wednesday.

Both companies said that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will manufacture it.

CARIAD, as part of its semiconductor strategy, will enter into direct relationships with semiconductor suppliers at the Tier 2 and Tier 3-level for the Volkswagen Group for the first time. In the future, CARIAD plans to direct Tier 1 suppliers of the Group to use only the SoC co-developed with ST and ST’s standard Stellar microcontroller for CARIAD’s zone architecture.

The chips will be designed for applications in the areas of networking, drivetrain, energy management, and comfort electronics – in zone controllers or in servers in VW’s operating system, VW.OS.

CARIAD CTO Lynn Longo said: “In the future, we also aim to enter into co-development of high-performance semiconductors for complex functions.”

“ST designed its Stellar architecture specifically to facilitate the transition to software-defined vehicles and CARIAD’s decision to work with ST to fit the requirements and functionalities of the Volkswagen Group’s next-generation vehicles highlights the success of our approach,” said Marco Monti, President of ST’s Automotive and Discrete Products Group.