Samsung-Produced Tesla AI5 Chip Completes Tape-Out, Mass Production Scheduled for 2027

According to South Korean media reports, the Tesla-Samsung AI5 chip has completed tape-out. The design has been finalized, and the product will be manufactured using advanced 2nm process technology at the factory in Taylor, Texas.

Chip tape-out marks the completion of the chip design process, meaning the design has been finalized and handed off for manufacturing. After passing the pre-validation phase, the taped-out design is used to create photomasks and proceed with wafer manufacturing to produce engineering samples. The engineering samples will then undergo validation with the customer before mass production can begin.

The AI5 chip is a successor to the HW4 chip currently used in Tesla vehicles. Industry insiders expect that the transition from the existing 7nm process to 2nm will reduce transistor size by 3.5 times, significantly improving compute density and power efficiency.

In April of this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that the AI5 team had submitted chip designs to both Samsung and TSMC. Since the two foundries adopt different methods for translating designs into physical circuits, there are slight differences between the AI5 versions manufactured by each. The production process now confirmed is the exclusive Samsung version, which differs from the design tape-out plan Musk announced in April.

It is reported that the Taylor plant will begin initial operations by the end of 2026, with full-scale shipments starting in 2027. Engineering prototypes of the AI5 are expected to be released by the end of 2026, with mass production scheduled to begin in 2027.