CARIAD selects Qualcomm to power Volkswagen’s future automated driving

CARIAD, the Volkswagen Group's software company announced today that it will look to Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to supply system-on-chips (SoCs) for CARIAD’s software platform designed to enable assisted and automated driving functions up to Level 4. The SoCs from Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon Ride™ Platform portfolio will be an important hardware component in CARIAD's standardized and scalable compute platform, which are targeted for Group vehicles from the middle of the decade.

"The connected and automated car of the future is a high-performance computer on wheels. Behind it lies enormously complex computing power," said CARIAD CEO Dirk Hilgenberg. "With our automated driving solutions, we are striving to let customers take their hands off the steering wheel in the future. Our software and Qualcomm Technologies' high-performance SoCs are the perfect match to bring this new automotive experience to customers around the world."

“We look forward to supporting CARIAD and its suppliers to deliver scalable and secure automated driving functions for Volkswagen Group vehicles through their selection of our open and programmable Snapdragon Ride Platforms,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president & GM, automotive, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “As the amount of innovation and complexities increase, strong collaborations such as ours with CARIAD are a necessity to not only address aggressive time-to-market goals, but to deliver safe and reliable automated driving experiences for all.”

The selection of Qualcomm Technologies, a specialist in the semiconductor industry, is the first of its kind for CARIAD, allowing it to define which high-performance computer chips are used for its platform and match them with its own software requirements. Under the leadership of CEO Herbert Diess, Volkswagen last year presented its NEW AUTO strategy, aimed at leading the Group into an autonomous and sustainable mobility future. Going forward, the Group will span everything from manufacturing and selling vehicles, to producing battery cells and offering energy services, to providing mobility solutions and developing and continuously updating software.

With Qualcomm Technologies’ high-performance SoCs, the Group will be able to deliver a range of secure and scalable automated driving functions. CARIAD will use SoCs from the Snapdragon Ride Platform portfolio, which are optimally suited to the needs of the software developed by CARIAD. 

“We are proud to be supporting CARIAD with Snapdragon Ride Platforms to support NCAP, active safety, to Level 4, self-driving, functionality, across the Volkswagen Group vehicles launching from the middle of the decade,” said Enrico Salvatori, SVP & President Qualcomm Europe/MEA, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“Finding the best balance between scalability, costs and performance was one of our biggest challenges for the design of our new High Performance Compute platform", said Klaus Hofmockel, Senior Vice President Hardware Development at CARIAD. "Qualcomm Technologies’ fully scalable SoC lineup delivers very efficient compute performance in combination with energy efficiency and also cost-effectiveness.”

CARIAD develops automated driving functions up to Level 4 based on Snapdragon Ride Platforms. The relationship with Qualcomm Technologies is also an important step in strengthening CARIAD's own competencies in the definition of optimized high-performance semiconductors. Behind this is the conviction that software and hardware must be perfectly matched in order to achieve the best possible performance and efficiency of central computer systems in the long term. This is especially true for complex functions such as highly automated driving.