Mainly known for its chips for smartphones, Qualcomm is also interested in the automotive market. And during its annual high mass, the company has just formalized a partnership with Google which should accelerate the adoption of its technologies by automobile manufacturers. Qualcomm already offers a solution called Snapdragon Digital Chassis that provides technologies for smart and connected cars. And now the chip vendor is teaming up with Google to make it easier to create products that leverage Qualcomm chips, Android Automotive OS, with integration of Google Cloud and generative artificial intelligence .
An extension of the partnership on smartphones
Concretely, the new solution provided by Qualcomm and Google will allow car manufacturers to develop new experiences in the cockpit, such as an assistant based on generative artificial intelligence and other digital features. As a reminder, Google and Qualcomm already collaborate on the smartphone market (Qualcomm provides the chips, while Google provides the Android operating system). And as a result, the two companies should have no difficulty developing a similar partnership for the automotive market.
At #SnapdragonSummitQualcomm announced it’s partnering with @Google to deliver a standardized reference framework for developing #AI-enabled cockpits and software-defined vehicles. pic.twitter.com/KlIiADIbZn
— Qualcomm (@Qualcomm) October 22, 2024
“The automotive industry is on the cusp of a major transformation enabled by advances in generative AI, automated driving solutions and the ability to update software features throughout the vehicle lifecycle. the platform”said Patrick Brady, vice president of engineering at Google. “We look forward to expanding our long-standing relationship with Qualcomm Technologies with this strategic collaboration to continue developing innovative solutions for software-defined vehicles and demonstrate the power of co-innovation to power the future of transportation .”
The difference between Android Automotive and Android Auto
It is important to point out that Android Automotive is a different platform from Android Auto, the software which is already available on a good number of vehicles. As the Android site explains, Android Auto runs on the user’s smartphone and “projects” its user interface onto the infotainment systems of compatible vehicles. For its part, Android Automotive is a platform that runs directly on the vehicle’s hardware (for example, using a Qualcomm chip). “It is a comprehensive, open source, highly customizable platform that powers the infotainment experience”indicates Google.
- Qualcomm takes advantage of its annual event to formalize a partnership with Google in the automotive sector
- Qualcomm supplies chips that will be able to integrate Google’s Android Automotive software to facilitate the creation of generative AI-based experiences on vehicles
- Android Automotive is an operating system that runs on vehicle hardware, and which is different from Android Auto
