Tesla Boosts Dojo D1 Supercomputer Chip Orders Amidst High Expectations
Tesla's Strategic Move to Enhance Its Dojo Supercomputer and Reduce Dependency on Nvidia GPUs
Tesla is reportedly increasing the orders for its Dojo D1 supercomputer chips. The D1 is a custom Tesla application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for the Dojo supercomputer, and these chips are being ordered from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
According to a source reportedly familiar with the matter, Taiwanese publication Economic Daily has noted that Tesla will be doubling its Dojo D1 chip orders to 10,000 units for the coming year. Considering the scalability of the Dojo supercomputer, there are high expectations that the volume of D1 chip orders from TSMC will continue to increase until 2025.
Dojo’s primary role within Tesla is expected to be the training of its driver-assist systems and self-driving AI models. As Tesla expands its projects, such as Full Self-Driving (FSD), dedicated robotaxis, and Optimus, the significance of Dojo in the company’s operations is likely to grow substantially.
Interestingly, the Economic Daily also pointed out that Tesla’s D1 chip orders from TSMC have had a positive impact on the chipmaker. TSMC’s order momentum related to high-performance computing (HPC) has seen an increase thanks to its partnership with Tesla. Although neither Tesla nor TSMC have officially commented on this collaboration, it appears to be an open secret in the industry.
The introduction of Dojo into Tesla’s technology ecosystem might allow the company to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s offerings. Tesla has been a significant consumer of Nvidia GPUs, with recent reports indicating the deployment of a new supercomputer equipped with 10,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, costing around $300 million, for various artificial intelligence applications.
Tesla AI’s official account on X also suggests ambitious targets for Dojo. According to Tesla, Dojo initiated production in July 2022, and by January 2024, the supercomputer is projected to rank among the top five globally. By October 2024, Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer is expected to boast an impressive 100 exa-flops of computing power.
