South Korean technology giant Samsung has entered the race to bring autonomous driving technology to market by gaining testing approval in California. Samsung Electronics Co.’s approval this week by the California Department of Motor Vehicles comes just four months after arch-rival Apple received a California test permit.
On Wednesday, the DMV updated the approved company listing with the addition of Samsung. The company joined a long list of automakers, auto suppliers, and tech companies that includes Tesla, Faraday Future, Apple, Waymo, Baidu, and NextEV. Testing will also take place in South Korea.
In May, Samsung gained permission from the South Korean government to test an autonomous car. It will operate the test car(s) fitted with its own sensors and software systems to run in Hyundai vehicles. That goes back to 2015, when the company launched a division for developing self-driving vehicle software. This week’s move is thus another step in staying abreast with whatever Apple is doing in the car sphere as well.
Like Apple, other tech companies, and automakers, Samsung has a Silicon Valley facility in place. Samsung can use its San Jose, Calif., location to develop autonomous driving technology and supply it to nearby clients such as automakers.
