NVIDIA announced on Monday an expansion of its partnerships with BYD and other Chinese automakers aiming to advance self-driving vehicles and AI-driven infotainment technology for global competition.
BYD, now surpassing Tesla as the world’s top electric vehicle manufacturer, will integrate Nvidia’s next-generation in-vehicle chips, known as Drive Thor, to enhance autonomous driving capabilities and digital features, Nvidia revealed.
In addition to autonomous driving advancements, BYD plans to leverage Nvidia’s technology to optimize factory operations, supply chain management, and develop virtual showrooms, according to Nvidia’s vice-president for automotive, Danny Shapiro, speaking during a conference call.
Shapiro confirmed that Drive Thor chips will be integrated into BYD vehicles starting next year, marking a significant milestone in the collaboration.
Several Chinese automakers, including BYD, Xpeng, and GAC Aion’s Hyper brand, announced expanded partnerships with Nvidia during the chipmaker’s GTC developer conference in San Jose, California.
Zeekr, a subsidiary of Geely, and Li Auto had previously committed to utilizing Nvidia’s Drive Thor technology.
Chinese automakers are increasingly turning to Nvidia to incorporate advanced technology into their vehicles, aiming to bridge the gap in global brand recognition. With aspirations to expand beyond the Chinese market, they face competition from established Western brands like Tesla.
Shapiro highlighted the conducive regulatory environment and incentives for innovation driving Chinese automakers to push the boundaries of automated driving technologies.
Nvidia also unveiled new partnerships, including collaboration with US software firm Cerence to adapt large language model AI systems for in-car computing. Lenovo is also teaming up with Nvidia for large language model deployment.
Soundhound is set to leverage Nvidia technology to develop an in-vehicle voice command system, allowing vehicle owners to access information from a virtual owner’s manual using voice commands.
While Nvidia did not specifically mention OpenAI or other large language model AI developers, the collaborations underscore the growing integration of AI technologies into the automotive industry.