All eyes across the auto industry are on GTC — the global AI conference running in San Jose, Calif., and online through Thursday, March 21 — as the world’s top automakers and tech leaders converge to showcase the latest models, demo new technologies and dive into the remarkable innovations reshaping the sector.
Attendees will experience how generative AI and software-defined computing are advancing the automotive landscape and transforming the behind-the-wheel experience to become safer, smarter and more enjoyable.
Automakers Adopting NVIDIA DRIVE Thor
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang kicked off GTC with a keynote address in which he revealed that NVIDIA DRIVE Thor, which combines advanced driver assistance technology and in-vehicle infotainment, now features the newly announced NVIDIA Blackwell GPU architecture for transformer and generative AI workloads.
Following the keynote, top EV makers shared how they will integrate DRIVE Thor into their vehicles. BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, is expanding its ongoing collaboration with NVIDIA and building its next-generation EV fleets on DRIVE Thor. Hyper, a premium luxury brand owned by GAC AION, is announcing it has selected DRIVE Thor for its new models, which will begin production in 2025. XPENG will use DRIVE Thor as the AI brain of its next-generation EV fleets. These EV makers join Li Auto and ZEEKR, which previously announced they’re building their future vehicle roadmaps on DRIVE Thor.
Additionally, trucking, robotaxis and goods delivery vehicle makers are announcing support for DRIVE Thor. Nuro, a member of the NVIDIA Inception program for cutting-edge startups, is choosing DRIVE Thor to power the Nuro Driver. Plus is announcing that future generations of its level 4 solution, SuperDrive, will run on DRIVE Thor. Waabi is leveraging DRIVE Thor to deliver the first generative AI-powered autonomous trucking solution to market. WeRide, in cooperation with tier 1 partner Lenovo Vehicle Computing, is creating level 4 autonomous driving solutions for commercial applications built on DRIVE Thor.
And DeepRoute.ai is unveiling its new smart driving architecture powered by NVIDIA DRIVE Thor, scheduled to launch next year.
Next-Generation Tech on the Show Floor
The GTC exhibit hall is buzzing with excitement as companies showcase the newest vehicle models and offer technology demonstrations.
Attendees have the opportunity to see firsthand the latest NVIDIA-powered vehicles on display, including Lucid Air, Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class, Nuro R3, Polestar 3, Volvo EX90, WeRide Robobus, and an Aurora truck. The Lucid Air is available for test drives during the week.
A wide array of companies are showcasing innovative automotive technology at GTC, including Foretellix, Luminar and MediaTek, which is launching its Dimensity Auto Cockpit chipsets at the show. The new solutions harness NVIDIA’s graphics and AI technologies to help deliver state-of-the-art in-vehicle user experiences, added safety and security capabilities.
Also Announced at GTC: Omniverse Cloud APIs, Generative AI
- Omniverse Cloud APIs, announced today at NVIDIA GTC, are poised to accelerate the path to autonomy by enabling high-fidelity sensor simulation for AV development and validation. Developers and software vendors such as CARLA, MathWorks, MITRE, Foretellix and Voxel51 underscore the broad appeal of these APIs in autonomous vehicles.
- Generative AI developers including Cerence, Geely, Li Auto, NIO, SoundHound, Tata Consulting Services and Wayve announced plans to transform the in-vehicle experience by using NVIDIA’s cloud-to-edge technology to help develop intelligent AI assistants, driver and passenger monitoring, scene understanding and more.
AI and Automotive Sessions Available Live and on Demand
Throughout the week, the world’s foremost experts on automotive technology will lead a broad array of sessions and panels at GTC, including:
- How LLMs and Generative AI Will Enhance the Way We Experience Self-Driving Cars
Tuesday, March 19, 9 a.m. PT - Accelerating the New Era of Autonomous Vehicles With Generative AI
Tuesday, March 19, 10 a.m. PT - Generative AI and Industrial Digitalization in the Automotive Industry
Tuesday, March 19, 2 p.m. PT - Accelerating Automotive Workflows With Large Language Models
Tuesday, March 19, 3 p.m. PT - Accelerating the Shift to AI-Defined Vehicles
Thursday, March 21, 8 a.m. PT
On DRIVE Developer Day, taking place Thursday, March 21, NVIDIA’s engineering experts will highlight the latest DRIVE features and developments through a series of deep-dive sessions on how to build safe and robust self-driving systems.
See the full schedule of automotive programming at GTC and be sure to tune in.