AI chip giant Nvidia is aiming to extend the reach of its technology, announcing a group of AI models and tools designed to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles, alongside a new chip that is designed to fulfil AI requests more quickly and cheaply than its predecessors.

Speaking at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, chief executive Jensen Huang unveiled a platform called Alpamayo that allows cars to “reason” in the real world.

Potential users can take the Alpamayo model and retrain it themselves, Nvidia said. The free offering is aimed at creating vehicles that can think their way out of unexpected situations, such as a traffic-light outage.

An onboard computer in a car will analyse inputs – from cameras and other sensors — break them down into steps and come up with solutions. Nvidia is building on its work with Mercedes-Benz to bring vehicles capable of hands-free driving on the highway that can also find their way through cities.

The first Nvidia-powered car will be on the road in the first quarter in the US, Mr Huang said.

The Nvidia chief also unveiled its Rubin chip that it promised would do more computing with less power than previous generations.

The Vera Rubin, which has been in development for three years, will begin shipping later this year. - Bloomberg