It is a well-known fact that Nvidia is one of the biggest semiconductor players in the realm of self-driving car technology. It is the highest capitalized semiconductor maker on the planet. Now, it has acquired a startup called DeepMap which will enable it further enhance its self-driving car technology. "The acquisition is an endorsement of DeepMap's unique vision, technology and people," said Ali Kani, vice president and general manager of Automotive at Nvidia, in a statement. "DeepMap is expected to extend our mapping products, help us scale worldwide map operations and expand our full self-driving expertise," he explained. 

One of the greater challenges to achieving peak autonomous driving is having accurate mapping information. It is essential to have localized maps that is reflective of the latest road conditions literally in real-time. DeepMap's technology will help Nvidia's self-driving stack achieve this with greater accuracy allowing the vehicle to locate itself on the road.

"Joining forces with Nvidia will allow our technology to scale more quickly and benefit more people sooner. We look forward to continuing our journey as part of the Nvidia team," said James Wu, co-founder and CEO of DeepMap, in a statement.

Interestingly, DeepMap was founded by James Wu and Mark Wheeler who both worked at Google, Apple and Baidu, perhaps the three biggest tech majors in the mapping space. All three own their mapping platforms. Now, their startup which has been acquired by Nvidia will deeply interface with the Nvidia Drive platform to scale across autonomous vehicles without using too much data via over the air updates.