Mercedes-Benz has spun off its Silicon Valley chip expert team into a new independent company named Athos Silicon, headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The startup will focus on developing next-generation computing chips for autonomous vehicles, drones, and related fields.
The core engineering team, which has operated within Mercedes’ North American R&D center for five years, will retain key intellectual property and receive “significant” investment from the automaker. Mercedes will remain a minority shareholder, while Athos Silicon establishes an independent board and plans to attract additional venture capital to preserve operational autonomy.
Technically, the company’s approach centers on chiplet technology, replacing traditional multi-chip solutions. By integrating tiny chiplets into compact packages, its products achieve 10–20 times lower power consumption than conventional designs—meeting the strict energy efficiency demands of electric vehicles while ensuring the high reliability required for autonomous driving. CEO Charnjiv Bangar emphasized that “safety for automotive and low power” are central goals, and the company’s independence will allow it to serve not only Mercedes but also competing automakers.
ICgoodFind : Mercedes’ strategic spin-off aims to advance in-vehicle chip innovation using chiplet technology, potentially reshaping competition in the automotive semiconductor space.
