China's BYD and Geely will use NVIDIA's robotaxi platform
What's the story
NVIDIA has announced its partnership with Chinese auto giants BYD and Geely to use the chipmaker's Drive Hyperion platform. The announcement was made at NVIDIA's GTC conference on Tuesday. The Drive Hyperion platform is a comprehensive system that includes the necessary chips, computers, sensors, and software for developing Level 4 autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Future prospects
BYD, Geely to develop next-gen Level 4 vehicles
BYD, which already uses NVIDIA's chips in its manually driven cars, will now use the Hyperion platform to develop next-gen Level 4 vehicles. Geely is also said to be using NVIDIA's Thor chips in its new Zeekr models. The partnership with these two leading Chinese automakers marks a major step for NVIDIA in the global autonomous vehicle market amid ongoing US-China trade tensions.
Strategic partnerships
NVIDIA's growing influence in the autonomous vehicle sector
Notably, BYD and Geely are not the only ones using NVIDIA's technology. The chipmaker also supplies chips and software to Waymo, which operates a robotaxi service in the US with Zeekr vehicles supplied by Geely. This further highlights NVIDIA's growing influence in the autonomous vehicle sector as it continues to expand its partnerships with major automakers across the globe.
Expansion plans
Lyft robotaxis to use NVIDIA's Hyperion platform
NVIDIA will also sell its Hyperion platform to Nissan, which is using robotaxi software from Wayve. The chipmaker is also collaborating with Isuzu and Tier IV on Level 4 busses using its next-gen Drive AGX Thor-based system-on-a-chip. In another major development, Lyft has announced plans to use NVIDIA's Hyperion platform for its own robotaxis, further expanding the chipmaker's footprint in the autonomous vehicle industry.
Global reach
Uber to deploy 100,000 robotaxis by 2027
NVIDIA already has a partnership with Uber to launch a global network of robotaxis, with plans to deploy 100,000 vehicles by 2027. The deal now covers 28 markets across four continents by 2028, starting with Los Angeles and San Francisco in early 2027. Uber is working with several automakers including Lucid, Volkswagen and Stellantis on building autonomous vehicles using NVIDIA's products.
Safety measures
NVIDIA introduces Halos OS for safety in robotaxis
As more robotaxis take to the road, safety concerns are growing. To address this, NVIDIA has introduced a new product called Halos OS. The system is designed, NVIDIA said, as a "safety guardrail" for autonomous driving systems that "will intervene" if AI models are about to make unsafe decisions. This is part of NVIDIA's efforts to ensure the safety and reliability of its AV technology as it continues to expand its partnerships with major automakers across the globe.