(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/KreangchaiRungfamai)

Rumours claim South Korean giant Samsung has set up a dedicated team to make chips for self-driving cars.

According to recent speculation, technology giant Samsung has created an in-house, dedicated team to manufacture processor chips to power self-driving cars. The company has long been manufacturing their own processors and the devices that they power, but this indicates that Samsung may be expanding its expertise to the fast-growing, but nascent, market of autonomous cars.

The speculation was indicated in a report that suggests the chaebol is looking very closely into processor chips for autonomous vehicles. The report refers to this team as a 'task force', comprising people from Samsung's chip division, specifically the system LSI division responsible for making non-memory chips powering camera image sensors and television display processors.

This report comes after Samsung's 2015 announcement of entering into the automotive industry, setting up a team dedicated to automotive parts. The conglomerate has also been aiming to focus on automotive electronics, based on its early 2016 announcement.

Samsung already has a notable presence in automotive electronics, so the leap to autonomous vehicle electronics may not be hard to envision. At present, it the sole provider of electric batteries for the BMW's line of hybrid and electric cars. Samsung also has significant expertise in semiconductors.

How big do you think Samsung's chip business for self-driving cars will be in the coming years? Share your thoughts in the comments.