Qualcomm primed for long-awaited driver-assistance debut with BMW at IAA Mobility showcase

Yahoo

6 hours ago

Qualcomm Technologies will unveil a sophisticated driver-assistance system that has been years in the making at Munich's IAA Mobility showcase in September.
The driving-policy portion of the software was codeveloped as part of a joint venture with BMW. It will debut on the automaker's Neue Klasse electric-vehicle platform and be available in 60 countries by the end of this year.
Other aspects of the software stack are derived from Qualcomm's acquisition of Veoneer's 'Arriver' software in 2022. Ever since, Qualcomm has anticipated the moment when it could put the pieces together and bring them to the market with BMW.
Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology.
'I kind of feel like this is a graduation for us,' said Nakul Duggal, who heads Qualcomm's automotive, industrial and cloud-computing business. 'For us to have gone from a cold start to where we are with them, I think that's a big accomplishment.'
Analysts say the same about Qualcomm's steady rise into prominence as an enabler of the software-defined vehicle evolution. The company has a $45 billion pipeline in automotive revenue. Its Snapdragon Digital Chassis is a scalable computing platform that supports connectivity, digital cockpit, infotainment and now driver-assistance functionality.
'Qualcomm is in an ideal position to bring that story together,' said Roger Lanctot of auto-tech advisory firm StrategiaNow Consulting. 'Now they can hopefully facilitate the transition to a connectivity-supported, connectivity-enabled autonomy proposition.'
Qualcomm-BMW work exemplifies auto-tech alliance
Qualcomm's first foray into the auto industry came in 2022 when it supplied modems used in General Motors' OnStar communications system. It deepened its auto connections when its silicon began underpinning digital cockpits – a natural progression from its smartphone roots.
Expanding into driver-assist technology was not as straightforward. Qualcomm needed to build brand-new, dedicated silicon that meets automotive safety standards for automated driving, Duggal said. But the company is poised to reap rewards and has timed its market entry well, Lanctot said.
Global car buyers are growing interested in more complex and advanced driver-assistance technology, especially in China, and automakers are seeking help building it.
Qualcomm's 50-50 joint venture with BMW on the driving-policy software for automated driving employs 800 people. It signals 'how far automakers are willing to align with the tech sector to tackle emerging challenges' such as automated driving, according to a June research note from S&P Global Mobility.
The driving policy is an algorithm that decides how an automated vehicle navigates its environment. Qualcomm is bringing its own algorithms — obtained in the Arriver acquisition and further honed — in the perception and active-safety portions of the system into the Neue Klasse work.
In the U.S., driver-assistance technology is expected to be the second-most important differentiator for customers in the premium segment by 2035, according to an April consumer survey conducted by consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
Chinese customers are already clamoring for such systems. In February, BYD outlined a plan to make its 'God's Eye' driver-assistance system standard across its lineup. There will be three variations, geared toward the entry-level, mid-market and premium segments.
Qualcomm works with Chinese competitors including Leapmotor and Li Auto Inc., and the company's Snapdragon platform is intended to help automakers worldwide present similar, flexible offerings at a global scale, said Anshuman Saxena, the company's vice president of ADAS and autonomous driving.
'This is exactly the point where that scalability becomes superimportant,' he said. 'They can add the right functions at the right cost structure.'
Mobileye, Applied Intuition offer global competition
Qualcomm is not the only company seeking to deliver such products. Some carmakers have sought to bring such developments in-house, such as General Motors, which renewed its interest in a 'personally owned autonomous vehicle' this month.
Other players include traditional tech suppliers such as Mobileye and newcomers such as Applied Intuition. The latter launched a driver-assistance product for passenger vehicles on Aug. 19 that offers features including lane keeping, intelligent parking, lane changes, urban driving and a remote parking-summon function with mass-market compute.
Still, with Neue Klasse poised to launch, Lanctot regards the competition in the driver-assistance space most keenly between Qualcomm and Mobileye. Qualcomm supplanted Mobileye in its driver-assistance work with BMW, both Duggal and Lanctot said.
'Qualcomm has a more comprehensive package,' Lanctot said, 'and Qualcomm is not likely to get into the mobility business, whereas Mobileye keeps flirting with becoming a mobility provider.'
Ownership of the data streaming from driving-assist systems is a key contractual battleground between automakers and tech companies, and in some sense, moving from one supplier to another is 'trading one dependency for another,' he said.
But perhaps not all are equal. Qualcomm has more than 30 design wins for its driver-assist product that will launch in the next 12 months, Duggal said.
The flurry of activity is 'putting tremendous pressure on our system,' he said. But after years of formulating a blueprint for entering the driver-assistance market, acquiring Arriver and implementing its strategy, he said, 'that is a good problem to have.'
Send us a letter to the editor
Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.