Nvidia, a prominent chipmaker, has announced the inclusion of leading Chinese automakers, BYD and Geely, in its robotaxi program, demonstrating its commitment to the growing autonomous vehicle market globally. The announcement was made during Nvidia’s GTC conference, revealing that BYD and Geely, along with Isuzu and Nissan, will leverage Nvidia’s Drive Hyperion platform. This platform integrates chips, computers, sensors, and software crucial for the development of Level 4 autonomous vehicles.
BYD, a current user of Nvidia’s chips in its conventional vehicles, will now utilize the Hyperion platform to create next-generation Level 4 vehicles. Geely, on the other hand, is incorporating Nvidia’s Thor chips in its new Zeekr vehicles, which are also supplied to Waymo for its US-based robotaxi service. Nvidia’s VP and general manager of the automotive team, Ali Kani, highlighted that Waymo is utilizing Nvidia products both in the car and the cloud.
The collaboration between Nvidia and these top Chinese automakers occurs amidst ongoing US-China trade tensions, with Nvidia’s chips being a focal point of negotiations. Despite China’s dominance in electric vehicle production, the competition in the robotaxi sector is more balanced, with companies like Baidu operating commercial robotaxis across multiple Chinese cities, while Waymo has around 3,000 vehicles deployed commercially in the US.
Source: The Verge