Tesla has lost another senior chip engineer to DensityAI.
Shishuang Sun, a Senior Director of AI Hardware Design, joined the startup in July.
DensityAI was founded by Tesla's former Dojo chief and includes many ex-Dojo engineers.
What happened
Shishuang Sun, a Senior Director of AI Hardware Design at Tesla, left to join DensityAI, a startup founded by former Dojo chief Ganesh Venkataramanan. His new role is listed as 'Packaging and System Hardware' at DensityAI, starting in July.
Why it matters
Sun is a veteran who worked on Dojo and Autopilot hardware for over five years. His expertise in packaging and system integration is critical as Tesla bets on custom AI chips like AI5 and AI6, and this loss continues a trend of talent leaving for DensityAI.
What to watch
Sun's departure follows the exit of roughly 20 former Dojo engineers and comes as Tesla's AI5 chip is not expected to reach volume production until mid-2027. DensityAI is building AI data center hardware for automotive, robotics, and industrial customers.
Ask the AI about this article →
The departure of Shishuang Sun underscores a persistent talent drain at Tesla, which had previously shuttered its Dojo supercomputer project in August 2025. DensityAI, founded by former Dojo chief Ganesh Venkataramanan, has now attracted about 20 ex-Dojo engineers and a sitting senior director.
Sun's expertise in advanced packaging and system integration is crucial for turning chip designs into working products, especially as Tesla pushes forward with AI5 and AI6 chips. The AI5 tape-out happened in April, but volume production is not expected until mid-2027, and the AI6 is slated for Samsung's 2nm process, which has faced yield issues.
The loss of such talent could impact Tesla's ability to execute on its custom silicon strategy, which is central to its valuation. The article notes that "custom silicon is a people business before it's a fab business," and the movement of people seems to be one-directional, raising questions about the company's long-term chip ambitions.
For example, today's edition would include:
AI-summarized, only the topics you pick — one digest a day via Email, Slack, or Discord.
Free · takes 30 seconds · unsubscribe anytimeWhat is AIToday? →
Ask AI anything about this article. Q&As are published on this page for other readers too.
Visko raised $10 million in pre-seed funding from Llama Ventures and opened public access to its first foundat…
U.S. markets ended August higher, with the S&P 500 up 2.6% and the Nasdaq up 3.9%
Neurovia AI, an Abu Dhabi-based company, is pitching Saudi security agencies software that it says can compres…
AI company Runway has unveiled Solaris, the first model in a new category it calls "Interface World Models." I…
John Deere introduced JD, a conversational AI tool that lets farmers ask open-ended questions about their hist…
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Fox Business that AI is creating 'hundreds of thousands' of jobs, including in…
