The IMEC Automotive Chiplet Program (ACP) is a pre-competitive research programme, run by the Belgian research centre imec, that helps carmakers, Tier 1 suppliers, chip companies and EDA vendors work out how to build vehicle computers from chiplets. It studies reference architectures, packaging reliability under automotive conditions and interconnect standards, so that members can adopt chiplets with less risk. Ten companies committed to it in October 2024, and a foundry and further suppliers joined in October 2025.
Key takeaways
- Software-defined vehicles (SDVs) need far more central computing, and chiplets let suppliers scale that computing without designing a new monolithic chip for every car line.
- The first committed members, announced on 10 October 2024, were Arm, ASE, BMW Group, Bosch, Cadence, Siemens, SiliconAuto, Synopsys, Tenstorrent and Valeo.
- GlobalFoundries joined as the first foundry partner in October 2025, with Infineon, Silicon Box, STATS ChipPAC and TIER IV.
- The work covers digital reference architectures, thermo-mechanical testbeds for reliability (for example AEC-Q100 Grade 2), and standards such as UCIe.
- Baden-Württemberg and imec set up the Advanced Chip Design Accelerator (ACDA) in Heilbronn, Germany, announced in spring 2025, to support the programme.
Why the car industry is looking at chiplets
The automotive industry is moving from hardware-centred designs, with a separate electronic control unit for each function, to software-defined vehicles that run many functions on a few powerful central computers. That shift demands much more computing power. The IMEC Automotive Chiplet Program is one of the main collaborative efforts to make chiplet architectures work for vehicle electronics. By bringing the automotive ecosystem together, imec is tackling the specific challenges of automotive chiplets, aiming for safer, more efficient and more customisable vehicles.
This post explains the ACP, its members and the work it targets, and adds what has happened since it was first published.
What is the IMEC Automotive Chiplet Program?
imec is a leading research and innovation centre in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, based in Leuven, Belgium. Its ACP is a pre-competitive research effort designed to speed up the adoption of chiplet architectures in the automotive industry. Chiplets are modular dies that each perform a specialised function and are combined in one package to create a complete computing system. Compared with traditional monolithic chip designs, chiplets offer scalability, flexibility and cost efficiency, which suits the high-performance computing needs of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI).
The ACP addresses the automotive industry's particular challenges: strict reliability requirements, cost constraints, and the need for energy-efficient solutions that preserve battery range in electric vehicles. Using imec's expertise in advanced 2.5D and 3D packaging, the programme aims to develop standardised chiplet architectures and packaging technologies that are robust, interoperable and scalable. The long-term goal is an open chiplet ecosystem that shortens development time, strengthens supply chain resilience and allows faster customisation for car manufacturers.
How a chiplet-based car computer is put together
A typical concept places several dies on a silicon interposer or organic substrate: a CPU chiplet (for example Arm cores), one or more AI accelerator chiplets, an I/O chiplet with vehicle networks such as automotive Ethernet and PCIe, and memory. Die-to-die links such as UCIe join them. A carmaker could then build an entry model with one AI chiplet and a premium model with three, reusing the same CPU and I/O dies and the same software stack.
An illustrative comparison: if an 800 mm2 monolithic die and four 200 mm2 chiplets are made on a process with a defect density of 0.1 per cm2, a simple Poisson yield model gives about e-0.8 = 45 percent yield for the large die and about e-0.2 = 82 percent for each small one. Because chiplets are tested before assembly (known good die), far less silicon is scrapped. These numbers are illustrative only; real yields depend on the process, the die and the yield model used.
Who are the members of the IMEC ACP?
The ACP brings together companies from across the automotive and semiconductor value chain to tackle technical problems and drive standardisation. On 10 October 2024, at the Automotive Chiplet Forum in Ann Arbor, Michigan, imec announced the first committed members of the programme (some reports placed the meeting in the Detroit area):
| Member | Role in the value chain | What it brings to the ACP |
|---|---|---|
| Arm | Processor IP | Chiplet system architectures and reusable IP for interoperable, high-performance automotive compute |
| ASE | OSAT, described as the world's largest | Heterogeneous integration and reliable connections between chiplets from different foundries |
| BMW Group | Carmaker (OEM) | System-level needs of next-generation vehicles, shaping architectures for real use |
| Bosch | Tier 1 supplier | Automotive electronics and system integration, with safety and reliability know-how |
| Cadence Design Systems | EDA | Tools and methods for designing and verifying chiplet-based systems |
| Siemens | EDA and simulation | Design and simulation tools for chiplet architectures tuned for automotive performance and safety |
| SiliconAuto | Automotive chip designer (Stellantis and Foxconn joint venture) | Development of specialised chips and chiplets for automotive applications |
| Synopsys | EDA and IP | Chiplet design, verification and integration solutions aligned with automotive standards |
| Tenstorrent | AI and RISC-V compute | Scalable AI and high-performance compute architectures |
| Valeo | Tier 1 supplier | Modular compute platforms; works closely with imec's competence centre in Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
This mix of OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, semiconductor vendors and EDA companies reflects the collaborative nature of the ACP. By pooling resources and expertise, members aim to build a chiplet ecosystem that benefits the whole automotive industry. For background on one member, see our post on SiliconAuto's India design centre.
Targeted work of the IMEC ACP
The ACP focuses on several areas that must be solved before chiplet architectures are viable in cars. It covers both technical work and standardisation.
1. Reference architectures and digital models
The ACP is developing digital models of chiplet architectures tailored to automotive needs. These reference architectures act as blueprints for scalable, high-performance computing systems for ADAS, autonomous driving and IVI. They give OEMs insight early, so software development can start before silicon exists and chiplet-based solutions can be integrated into vehicles faster.
2. Physical testbeds and reliability testing
To check that chiplets meet automotive-grade reliability (for example AEC-Q100 Grade 2, which covers an ambient range of -40 to +105 degrees C), the ACP is building physical test structures based on imec's 3D integration research. These thermo-mechanical testbeds reproduce real conditions such as temperature cycling and vibration to evaluate interconnects and packaging. The results are shared with all partners, which speeds up the development of robust chiplet designs.
3. Standardisation for interoperability
A major barrier to chiplet adoption is the lack of industry-wide standards. The ACP works on standardised interconnects and protocols, for example UCIe and the Chiplet System Architecture (CSA) that Arm leads, so that chiplets from different vendors can work together. This lets OEMs mix and match chiplets, reduces vendor lock-in and improves supply chain resilience. imec's Automotive Chiplet Forum plays an important part in building consensus on these standards.
4. Performance scaling and energy efficiency
Chiplets allow specialised processing units to be added in a modular way, scaling performance without redesigning the whole system. The ACP is exploring designs that deliver the computing power needed for AI-driven functions such as autonomous driving while keeping energy use low to protect EV range.
5. Cost efficiency and rapid customisation
Modular designs reduce development cost and time to market. The ACP aims at chiplet-based solutions that let OEMs adapt systems quickly across car models and generations, rather like swapping building blocks. That flexibility matters as market demands and technology change.
6. Advanced Chip Design Accelerator (ACDA)
With the State Government of Baden-Württemberg, imec set up the Advanced Chip Design Accelerator (ACDA) at the Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence in Heilbronn, Germany. It was announced at Hannover Messe around 1 April 2025 (the original post said March 2025), with reported state funding of 40 million euros over an initial five years. The centre works on pre-competitive chiplet design, advanced packaging, system integration, sensing and edge AI within the ACP, and supports talent development and work towards reference design implementations.
Why chiplets matter for the automotive industry
The move to chiplet architectures is driven by the limits of monolithic chip designs, which struggle to keep up with the computing demands of SDVs. Chiplets offer several advantages:
- Scalability: performance scales by adding specialised compute units, supporting everything from entry-level ADAS up to full Level 5 autonomy as that becomes feasible.
- Cost efficiency: modular designs reduce development cost and allow faster hardware updates without full redesigns.
- Supply chain resilience: a multi-vendor ecosystem reduces reliance on a small number of suppliers.
- Flexibility: OEMs can mix and match chiplets for customised solutions that differentiate their vehicles.
- Energy efficiency: optimised chiplet designs lower power consumption, which helps EV range.
The automotive industry also has its own constraints: vehicles stay in service for 10 to 15 years, safety standards such as ISO 26262 are strict, and cost pressure is intense. The ACP's collaborative, pre-competitive approach pools expertise and resources to reduce the risk of adopting chiplets.
Open challenges reviewers ask about
- Thermal cycling and warpage: large interposers and many micro-bumps must survive years of temperature swings and vibration.
- Functional safety across dies: safety mechanisms and fault reporting must work across die-to-die links, not only inside each die.
- Security: each chiplet needs a trusted identity, and links between dies may need protection.
- Test and known good die: automotive defect targets in the low parts-per-million range need thorough testing before and after assembly.
- Long-term supply: every chiplet in a package must stay available for the vehicle's production life.
The road ahead
The IMEC Automotive Chiplet Program brings together carmakers such as BMW, suppliers such as Bosch and Valeo, and semiconductor and EDA leaders such as Arm, Cadence, Siemens and Synopsys to lay the groundwork for a standardised, open chiplet ecosystem. Its focus on reference architectures, reliability testing and standardisation is meant to make sure chiplets deliver the performance, safety and efficiency that software-defined vehicles need.
The programme has continued to grow. In October 2025 imec announced that GlobalFoundries had joined as the first foundry partner, together with Infineon, Silicon Box, STATS ChipPAC and the Japanese autonomous driving software company TIER IV, discussed at the 2025 Automotive Chiplet Forum. The original post also said the ACP's work will likely help double the processing power of today's vehicles by 2030; that is a forecast, not a measured result, and should be read as such. With the ACDA in Germany, imec is also building a talent pipeline for this transition. For companies in the automotive value chain, joining the ACP or taking part in the Automotive Chiplet Forum is a way to help shape the future of vehicle electronics.
FAQ
Is the ACP a standards body?
No. It is a pre-competitive research programme. It feeds results into standards work such as UCIe but does not publish standards itself.
Can any company join?
imec invites companies across the automotive and semiconductor chain to join or to attend the Automotive Chiplet Forum; terms are agreed with imec.
When will chiplet-based car computers be in production?
Members have not published firm dates through the ACP. Production timing depends on each OEM's vehicle programmes and on reliability qualification.
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