At this week’s IAA Mobility conference in Munich, NVIDIA Vice President of Automotive Ali Kani outlined how cloud-to-car AI platforms are bringing new levels of safety, intelligence and trust to the road.
NVIDIA and its partners didn’t just show off cars at the conference — they showed off what cars are becoming: AI-defined machines, built as much in the data center as they are in the factory.
Kani framed this shift during his IAA keynote today: vehicles are moving from being dependent on horsepower to compute power, from mechanical systems to software stacks.
In Germany and around the world, automotive engineering is now infused with silicon acceleration, as automakers and suppliers adopt NVIDIA’s cloud-to-car platform to drive safety, intelligence and efficiency into tomorrow’s vehicles.
NVIDIA is the only company that offers an end-to-end compute stack for autonomous driving. Its three AI compute platforms critical for autonomy are:
- NVIDIA DGX for training AI in data centersNVIDIA Omniverse and Cosmos to simulate worlds and generate synthetic data for testing and validationNVIDIA DRIVE AGX in-vehicle computers to process sensor data in real time
Together, these platforms form a feedback loop for learning, testing and deployment that tightens the cycle of innovation while keeping safety front and center.
It’s All About Safety: NVIDIA Halos Sets the Standard
Safety is a core theme at IAA. NVIDIA Halos is a full-stack, comprehensive safety system that unifies vehicle architecture, AI models, chips, software, tools and services to ensure the safe development of autonomous vehicles, from cloud to car.
NVIDIA Halos brings together safety-assessed systems-on-a-chip, the safety-certified NVIDIA DriveOS operating system and the DRIVE AGX Hyperion architecture into a unified platform for autonomous driving. This platform is backed by the NVIDIA Halos Certified Program and its AI Systems Inspection Lab, which deliver rigorous validation to ensure real-time AI operates with end-to-end reliability.
With AI-driven workflows and high-fidelity sensor simulations built with NVIDIA Omniverse and Cosmos, automakers can train, test and safely validate vehicle performance — even under conditions that are hard to experiment with in the real world, such as rare or hazardous traffic situations and edge-case events, and in complex environments.
Simulation tools are increasingly critical for advancing safe, scalable autonomous vehicle development.
The popular autonomous driving simulator CARLA now integrates the NVIDIA Cosmos Transfer world foundation model, along with NVIDIA Omniverse NuRec reconstruction libraries, to bring diverse, high-fidelity simulations directly into autonomous vehicle testing pipelines.
Capgemini and TCS are already tapping into this integration to expand their simulation capabilities and push the boundaries of software-defined vehicle development.
Expanding the Ecosystem: Automotive Leaders Embrace Cloud-to-Car AI
Automotive leaders are embracing NVIDIA’s cloud-to-car AI platform to transform their next-generation vehicles.
Lucid headlined the IAA showcase with its all-electric Lucid Gravity SUV, which is accelerated by the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX platform, uses the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture and operates on NVIDIA DriveOS.
Mercedes-Benz introduced its all-new GLC with EQ-technology and announced expansions to its CLA family with the first fully electric shooting brake — all built on NVIDIA AI, DRIVE AV software and accelerated compute.
Lotus is featuring the all-electric Eletre SUV, the hyper-GT Emeya and the Theory 1 concept — all accelerated by NVIDIA DRIVE AGX to deliver high-performance, AI-driven functions for intelligent and safer mobility.
ZYT is showcasing its autonomous vehicle software platforms built on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX, highlighting how this advanced technology accelerates safer and smarter mobility.
Volvo Cars highlighted its ES90 Single Motor Extended Range Ultra and EX90 Twin Motor Performance Ultra models, equipped with enhanced safety and driver-assistance capabilities and powered by NVIDIA DRIVE AGX and DriveOS for improved AI performance and safety.
XPENG showcased how NVIDIA DRIVE AGX underpins its G6, G9 and X9 models, delivering XPILOT smart driving assistance, advanced autonomy and intelligent cockpit features.
Global Tech Leaders Accelerate Software-Defined Vehicles With NVIDIA
Beyond automakers, technology leaders across the globe are building on NVIDIA AI to accelerate the development of software-defined vehicles.
MediaTek is working closely with NVIDIA to bring GPU-powered intelligence into its Dimensity Auto Cockpit solutions, enabling advanced in-car experiences through premium graphics and intelligent assistants.
ThunderSoft introduced its new AI Box built on DRIVE AGX, designed to run large-scale AI models for intelligent cockpits. The AI Box is complete with personalized copilots, safety monitoring and immersive cabin experiences.
Cerence is presenting its xUI AI assistant at IAA, built on CaLLM models and running on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX with DriveOS. With NVIDIA NeMo Guardrails, it ensures safe, context-aware, brand-specific voice interactions across both edge and cloud.
ZF Group is showcasing its ProAI supercomputer accelerated by NVIDIA DRIVE AGX. The supercomputer unifies advanced driver-assistance systems, automated driving or chassis control into a scalable architecture to unlock capabilities, from entry-level deployments to full autonomy.
RoboSense is integrating its high-performance automotive-grade digital lidar with the DRIVE AGX platform, enhancing system performance, while Desay SV is showcasing its NVIDIA DRIVE Thor-based domain controller, a next-generation smart mobility solution shaped by advanced AI.
Magna is showcasing its future-ready, centralized advanced driver-assistance system platform designed for flexibility and scalability. This advanced system integrates a comprehensive suite of sensors, accelerated by NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor.
Watch Kani’s IAA keynote to see how NVIDIA is accelerating the future of autonomous driving with a cloud-to-car platform.
Plus, watch the session on generative and agentic AI in the automotive industry by Sri Subramanian, global head of generative AI, automotive, at NVIDIA, as well as the session on industrial AI for the automotive industry by Norm Marks, vice president of automotive enterprise at NVIDIA.
Learn more about NVIDIA’s work in autonomous vehicles and the NVIDIA automotive partner ecosystem. Follow NVIDIA DRIVE on LinkedIn and X.
