American automotive and energy giant Tesla has reportedly acquired AI and computer vision startup DeepScale to boost its Autopilot driver assistance system efforts. The automaker also evidently intends to realize CEO Elon Musk’s vision to transform its EVs into robotaxis and build a driverless platform like Uber. The brand has apparently picked up smaller companies and startups from time to time. However, the acquisition of DeepScale appears to be the most significant one since February, when the automaker disclosed plans to take over Maxwell Technologies in a bid to improve its battery technology. Tesla’s Autopilot system and the way in which it is testing its semi-autonomous technology is undeniably one of the trendiest topics in the driverless technology space. The brand is clearly struggling to show a profit. However, its DeepScale acquisition indicates that the Silicon Valley carmaker is certainly laser-focused on investing in the coming years. Sources with relevant information revealed that eleven engineers had left Tesla’s Autopilot team after leader Stuart Bowers resigned in May. The acquisition could seemingly help Tesla fill the talent gap for the project. For the record, DeepScale is a four-year-old startup based in Mountain View, California that develops perceptual technologies for autonomous vehicles with prime focus on neural networks. The company makes use of low-wattage processors to design a more accurate computer vision. The startup has reportedly developed an efficient way to use deep neural networks on small and low-cost automotive sensors to enhance the accuracy of visual perception systems. DeepScale software apparently collects information through sensors and processes it using its AI platform and helps the autonomous vehicle perceive. Tesla supposedly plans to integrate DeepScale’s technology into its Autopilot system, which is not yet considered completely autonomous and requires a little bit of human assistance. However, DeepScale’s tech is designed and well-equipped for fully autonomous scenarios. It has come to the fore that DeepScale CEO Forrest Iandola joined the Tesla Group as a senior staff machine learning scientist. Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory has seemingly provided it a major competitive edge in the EV space. The carmaker is now almost finished constructing an automotive assemble and manufacturing facility, the Gigafactory 3, in China. Source Credits —https://insideevs.com/news/374216/video-tesla-acquires-ai-startup-self-driving-tech/