Apple is building a self-driving car in Silicon Valley, and is scouting for secure locations in the San Francisco Bay area to test it. Documents show the oft-rumoured Apple car project appears to be further along than many suspected.

Microsoft has agreed to invest about US$100 million in Uber Technologies at a valuation of approximately US$50 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Results from Europe's big chipmakers show business conditions have deteriorated quickly in previously healthy markets for auto electronics and industrial components, adding to concerns over the industry's traditional drivers - computers and phones.

PowerVR Series7 is architected for the broadest range of next-generation products from wearables and IoT through automotive, mobile and consumer electronics devices, up to high-performance GPU compute.

The Gobi 9x30 is the world's first commercially announced cellular modem for automotive based on the 20nm technology node with support for global carrier aggregation deployments up to 40MHz in both LTE FDD and TDD modes.

Infineon Technologies has projected sales growth in its fiscal second quarter as orders for automotive and identity-checking components rise.

Samsung Electronics wants to parlay that technology into automotive navigation and entertainment systems for an industry that makes more than 80 million vehicles a year.

Chip companies serving the automotive industry know exactly where the next-generation MCU battle will be played out: high-performance MCUs with fast-access flash memory at 40-nanometer process.

Tesla has hired Doug Field, Apple's hardware engineering chief for the Mac line-up of notebooks and desktops, the automotive giant announced Thursday.

Imec and Renesas Electronics have entered into a new strategic research collaboration at Holst Centre. Together, the companies will collaborate to enhance ultra-low power (ULP) wireless technologies for short range communication, targeting sensor networks for automotive and industrial purposes.

Toshiba has said that it will concentrate on three fields: analog, automotive and communications in 2013.

Booming sales in Asia have helped German car firm BMW shrug off the gloom in Europe to report a record third quarter pre-tax profit.

The communications and automotive IC markets are forecast to outpace the growth of the total IC market through 2016, according to IC Insights.

The current global economic uncertainties led to a softer than expected development in the company's operating business, Infineon said in a statement.

Spansion announced that Freescale Semiconductor has selected Spansion serial peripheral interface flash memory to provide its new Vybrid automotive and industrial solutions platforms with a simplified, high-bandwidth memory subsystem.

Spansion has unveiled what it claims is the industry's first human machine interface (HMI) coprocessor that enables voice-controlled system interfaces. Leveraging Nuance Communications' voice technology, the new product is ideal for voice recognition systems in automotive, gaming and consumer electronics, significantly improving response time and accuracy over conventional voice interfaces by supporting larger acoustic databases.

Japanese chipmaker Renesas has seen its shares tumble to a record low amid reports it is planning to raise cash and cut jobs.

Automakers who are dabbling in ambient lighting are preparing to dive into greater use of LED technology as a way to both create a distinctive brand identity inside the vehicle and to meet customer demand, according to automotive suppliers at the WardsAuto Interiors Conference in Dearborn.

The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), unveiled today in conjunction with the CTIA wireless trade show in New Orleans, is looking to join forces with other manufacturers to form a "worldwide wireless power technology ecosystem." The group wants to develop new power transfer technologies that will allow for simultaneous charging of multiple devices in cars, on tabletops, and elsewhere.

Fuji Electric and the chip manufacturer Infineon Technologies serve the automotive industry by extending the supplier base for power modules deployed in automotive hybrid and electrical vehicles.

German microchip maker Infineon raised its full-year sales outlook after demand for its energy efficiency, mobility and security chips, particularly from the car industry, helped second-quarter results beat expectations.

The owner of the glass manufacturer Pilkington, Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG), says it will close one of its three UK production lines as it cuts costs.

"We delivered a solid fourth quarter amid challenging market conditions," said company president and CEO John Kispert. "2011 was a year of transition and intense product development. Spansion is now well-positioned for growth in the future in areas such as automotive, industrial, communications and gaming..."

Honda Motor said its production facility in Taiwan will be suspended starting Dec. 15, as the flooding in Thailand has stopped supply of some key components.

Japanese companies, Thailand's biggest foreign investors, may spend more to build factories in neighbors including Indonesia and Vietnam after the worst flooding in 70 years disrupted global production.

Toyota Motor said it had restored vehicle output in Japan to "near-normal levels" on Monday, after severe flooding in Thailand disrupted supply chains.

Toyota has extended production cuts at its factories in Thailand and Japan due to shortage of parts in the wake of floods in Thailand.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is collaborating with Thailand's central bank to implement a loan programme to help Japanese firms affected by flooding in the country.

Toshiba America Electronic Components has announced the second-generation of its Visconti series of image recognition processors for automotive applications.

Linear, which makes semiconductors for industrial equipment and luxury cars, ranked above Microsoft and Apple - two companies with market valuations that are 30 to 50 times larger.

Toyota Motor may start exporting subcompact cars from Thailand for sale in other markets, a senior executive said.

Expected problems in the automotive supply chain failed to materialize for Infineon Technologies in the second quarter and helped the German chip maker turn in higher than expected sales and profits in its third fiscal quarter ended June 30.

Infineon Technologies is on track for accelerated growth and is well-equipped to make acquisitions, Chief Executive Peter Bauer said at an investor event on June 7.

Fujitsu Semiconductor has announced the release of 113 microcontrollers, including chips from the MB96600 Series of 16-bit microcontrollers and chips from the MB91520 Series of 32-bit microcontrollers.

Johnson Controls (JCI), the Milwaukee-based industrial systems conglomerate, wants to pull the plug on a joint ventures with French battery giant Saft.

Spansion has entered production of its 1Gb and 512Mb GL NOR flash memory for automotive, consumer electronics, gaming and telnet applications.

Infineon's decision to exit the wireless business to focus on chips for cars and energy-efficient machines has paid off, as strong second-quarter results let the German chipmaker raise its full-year outlook.

Japanese automobile sales more than halved in April - the biggest monthly drop on record - and are not expected to recover until late 2011, raising concerns the country's leading vehicle manufacturers will post losses for the first half of the year.