AI titan Nvidia ramps up collaboration with Chinese auto giants

Credit: AFP

Caption: NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang displays products on-stage during the annual Nvidia GTC Artificial Intelligence Conference at SAP Center in San Jose, California, on March 18, 2024.

Nvidia on Monday announced a major expansion of its collaboration with world-leading BYD and other Chinese electric carmakers, including the development of autonomous AI-boosted vehicles.

BYD, which beat Elon Musk's Tesla in sales in the last quarter of 2023, is the latest Chinese auto firm to use Nvidia's DRIVE Thor, an all-in-one vehicle control system that is bolstered by powerful generative AI features.

"Today we're announcing that BYD, the world's largest EV company, is adopting our next-generation (AV computer)," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a developers conference.

Nvidia said other major Chinese EV firms, including XPeng, Li Auto, ZEEKR and GAC Aion have also adopted the Thor platform, which was first announced in 2022.

"DRIVE Thor is poised to revolutionize the automotive landscape, ushering in an era where generative AI defines the driving experience," Nvidia said in a statement.

The company said BYD will also use Nvidia's infrastructure for "cloud-based AI development and training technologies."

Thor is expected to roll out for production vehicles as early as 2025, according to Nvidia.

The company has skyrocketed to become one of the most valuable businesses in the world on the back of the AI frenzy sparked by the success of OpenAI's ChatGPT.