Nvidia adds Hyundai, BYD and other automakers to self-driving tech business

<p><a href="/quotes/NVDA/">Nvidia</a> is expanding deals for its autonomous vehicle development business to Hyundai Motor, <a href="/quotes/7201.T-JP/">Nissan Motor</a> and Isuzu, as well as Chinese automakers BYD and Geely, the software and chip giant announced Monday.</p>
<p>The new tie-ups are for Nvidia's <a href="https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/solutions/autonomous-vehicles/drive-hyperion/">Drive Hyperion platform</a> for AVs. The system helps companies develop and deploy driver-assist and autonomous driving capabilities for Level 4 AVs, which are capable of driving without human intervention under predefined areas or circumstances.</p>
<p>"We've been working on self-driving cars for a long time. The ChatGPT moment of self-driving cars has arrived," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Monday during the company's <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/16/nvidia-gtc-2026-ceo-jensen-huang-keynote-blackwell-vera-rubin.html">GTC</a> conference. "We now know we could successfully autonomously drive cars, and today, we are announcing four new partners for Nvidia's robotaxi-ready platform. ... The number of robotaxi-ready cars in the future are going to be incredible."</p>
<p>No vehicles on sale to consumers today are capable of driving themselves without human monitoring or intervention, but some companies, such as <a href="/quotes/GOOGL/">Alphabet's</a> Waymo, offer ride-hailing fleets with Level 4 self-driving vehicles, also known as robotaxis. Most vehicles on sale today are considered Level 2, with drivers needing to continually monitor the systems.</p>
<p>Drive Hyperion is part of what Nvidia calls its "end-to-end" AV platform that includes data center training, large-scale simulations and <a href="https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/solutions/autonomous-vehicles/in-vehicle-computing/">in-vehicle computing</a>. The company does not produce or sell AVs or many of the components needed to operate such vehicles.</p>
<p>Current Nvidia customers for Drive Hyperion include many self-driving companies such as Aurora and Nuro, as well as other more consumer-facing businesses such as <a href="/quotes/SONY/">Sony Group</a>, <a href="/quotes/UBER/">Uber Technologies</a>, Jeep parent <a href="/quotes/STLA/">Stellantis</a> and electric vehicle maker <a href="/quotes/LCID/">Lucid Group</a>. </p>
<p>AVs are important to Nvidia, as self-driving cars remain one of the primary areas where the chipmaker can show growth outside of artificial intelligence.</p>
<p>Many believe AI could be key to the proliferation of AVs, which Wall Street analysts and automotive executives have targeted as a multitrillion-dollar growth industry.</p>
<p>The new companies add to a growing list of such tie-ups for Nvidia, as the chipmaker and the automotive and technology industries try to capitalize on and proliferate AVs after <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/10/gm-halts-funding-of-robotaxi-development-by-cruise.html">years of failed ventures</a> for robotaxis. </p>
<p>Waymo has led the AV industry for years, while others such as <a href="/quotes/TSLA/">Tesla</a>, Uber and <a href="/quotes/AMZN/">Amazon's</a> Zoox attempt to catch up. </p>
<p><a href="/quotes/GM/">General Motors</a>-backed Cruise, which was previously viewed as a leader alongside Waymo, disbanded amid controversies after a pedestrian was dragged by one of its vehicles in San Francisco. GM <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/15/end-of-gm-cruise-driverless-robotaxi.html">spent more than $10 billion</a> on Cruise before ending the robotaxi operations in 2024. </p>
<p>— CNBC's <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/katie-schoolov/">Katie Tarasov</a> contributed to this report.</p>