Bosch invests $1.1 billion in a new chip factory to manufacture chips for future smart cars

Bosch provides many components to automakers, from ignition systems to brakes. However, developing self-driving systems is difficult, and Bosch's $1.1 billion facility should help advance autonomous driving technology. Robert Bosch GmbH is investing 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in a new semiconductor factory in Dresden, Germany. The factory will not only add 700 new jobs, but will also be responsible for manufacturing semiconductor chips for future self-driving cars.

“As connectivity and automation develop, they are increasingly being used in more and more application areas,” Bosch Chairman Dr. Volkmar Denner said in a statement. “By expanding our semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, we are providing a solid foundation for the future and strengthening our competitiveness.”

Bosch's chip factory will be completed in 2019. It will not only produce chips for self-driving cars, but also for smart homes and smart infrastructure, both of which will inevitably be related to self-driving, thus creating a huge automated environment.

Bosch's work with self-driving cars isn't limited to the chips that go into them. The company is working with Daimler AG to bring self-driving taxis to the road by 2020. The company is also working on a new type of radar-based mapping that will make self-driving technology safer.