According to TheElec report, Samsung’s logic chip design business Samsung System LSI has registered as a second-tier supplier of automotive CMOS image sensors (CIS) for Hyundai Motor’s latest models.
The main supplier of the model, which was launched in the first half of this year, is Omnivision, the source said.
They added that Samsung System LSI is a secondary supplier, and its CIS is supplied to Hyundai Mobis, which makes it into a complete camera module and supplies it to Hyundai Motors.
Over the past decade, the CIS market has grown on the back of smartphones, but more cars are also adopting them.
More sensor units are expected to be used in future cars as future cars adopt more autonomous driving features. These sensors act as the car’s eyes, providing the car with image data.
CISs for automobiles are generally more expensive than CISs for other products because they need to be more durable.
According to Yole Development, the global automotive CIS market was worth $4.4 billion in 2018, but will reach $8.7 billion in 2024.
The global automotive CIS market is dominated by ON Semiconductor and Omnivision. Sony and Samsung are the powerhouses in the smartphone CIS space, but are considered the second tier of the top players in the automotive space.
Auto companies have also been slow to switch suppliers for these parts as they have stricter safety requirements. But growth in this segment gives Sony and Samsung a chance to secure more share.
The company has been showing results since Haechang Lee, executive vice president of Samsung System LSI’s automotive sensor team, joined the company two years ago, the sources said.
Haechang Lee previously worked at Google for six years as the head of the company’s sensor team.
Samsung’s technology in automotive sensors has jumped significantly since the executive vice president joined the company, the sources said. Park Yong-in, head of Samsung System LSI, did a lot of work to hire Haechang Lee.
