Chip design giant Qualcomm made a couple of key announcements this week as it expanded its presence in the automotive sector. These include its partnership with the Chinese electric vehicle company Leapmotor, collaboration with ZF for autonomous driving and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hyundai for ADAS systems and software-defined vehicles. These developments come as Qualcomm and Google expand their collaboration for Android automotive software, and they build on several of the firm's platforms, such as the Snapdragon Cockpit.
Qualcomm Expands Autonomous Driving & Software-Defined Vehicles Through Multiple Deals
Through its partnership with Leapmotor, Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite (SA8797P) will be part of a central controller used to deliver features such as driver assistance, control of windows, lighting, climate and doors and management of thecockpit features. This control will use two Snapdragon Elite units, and it will launch on Leapmotor's D19 electric vehicle.The D19 is a large sports utility vehicle (SUV) and is available in extended range and battery-electric (BEV) variants.
Qualcomm claims that its controller will also enable agentic AI performance in cars through relying on the firm's neural processing, graphics processing and central processing units. In terms of specifications, the platform will be able tosupport 13 cameras and sensors as well as eight displays and 18-channel audio for entertainment systems. The display support includes 3K and 4K displays.
Qualcomm's partnership with ZF relies on its Snapdragon Ride SoCs to work with the ZF ProAI platform to deliver autonomous driving features. The firm claims that the Ride SoC and the ProAI computer will enable autonomous driving up to Level 3. The ZF platform allows for computation of up to 1,500 TOPS, support of safety, parking and autopilot features and the integration of third-party features. It is complemented by the Snapdragon Ride, which allows the computer to rely on AI for driving features such as monitoring, mapping and lane and sign recognition.
Along with the hardware features, the Snapdragon Pilot and the ZF ProAI computer also have a host of software features that Qualcomm claims speed up development and rollout. Additionally, the system also supports over-the-air updates.
Finally, Qualcomm's MOU with Hyundai covers software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and autonomous driving systems. The agreement is also focused on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Ride platform, which will work together with Hyundai's Mobis smart mobility platform.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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