NVIDIA's next-generation centralized car computer, DRIVE Thor, is set to transform the automotive industry as leading companies adopt the platform for their autonomous vehicle fleets. The powerful AI capabilities of DRIVE Thor are attracting attention from automakers, trucking companies, and robotaxi developers alike.
NVIDIA announced at GTC that several key players in the transportation sector, including BYD, Hyper, XPENG, Plus, Nuro, Waabi, and WeRide, are leveraging DRIVE Thor to power their next-gen consumer and commercial fleets. The platform, succeeding DRIVE Orin, unifies intelligent functions into a single system, offering enhanced efficiency and lower overall costs.
DRIVE Thor is designed to harness the potential of generative AI applications, which are becoming increasingly crucial in the automotive industry. With the integration of NVIDIA's new Blackwell architecture, optimized for transformer, large language model (LLM), and generative AI workloads, DRIVE Thor delivers advanced cockpit capabilities and secure autonomous driving on a centralized platform.
"Accelerated compute has led to transformative breakthroughs, including generative AI, which is redefining autonomy and the global transportation industry at large," said Xinzhou Wu, vice president of automotive at NVIDIA. "DRIVE Orin continues to be the AI car computer of choice for today's intelligent fleets, but now we're seeing mobility leaders looking ahead to bring NVIDIA DRIVE Thor into their next-generation, AI-enabled vehicle roadmaps."
Leading EV makers such as BYD, Hyper, and XPENG have selected DRIVE Thor for their future vehicle lineups. BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, is expanding its collaboration with NVIDIA to include cloud-based AI development and training technologies. Hyper, a premium luxury brand owned by GAC AION, plans to begin production of level 4 autonomous vehicles powered by DRIVE Thor in 2025. XPENG will also utilize the platform as the AI brain of its next-generation EV fleets, enabling advanced autonomous driving and parking capabilities.
Beyond passenger vehicles, DRIVE Thor caters to the needs of other segments where high-performance compute and AI are essential, such as trucking, robotaxis, and delivery vehicles. Nuro, Plus, Waabi, and WeRide are among the companies leveraging the platform for their autonomous driving solutions.
Nuro, a developer of level 4 autonomous driving technology, has selected DRIVE Thor to power the Nuro Driver, an integrated system consisting of proprietary AI software, sensors, and NVIDIA automotive-grade hardware. Plus, a provider of autonomous driving software solutions, will run future generations of its SuperDrive system on DRIVE Thor. Waabi is leveraging the platform to deliver the first generative AI-powered autonomous trucking solution to market. WeRide, in collaboration with Lenovo Vehicle Computing, is creating level 4 autonomous driving solutions for various urban-centered use cases built on DRIVE Thor.
The strategic partnership between Lenovo Vehicle Computing and WeRide aims to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous driving technology. The collaboration will utilize Lenovo's autonomous driving domain controller, AD1, built on the NVIDIA DRIVE Thor platform featuring the Blackwell architecture.
As the race to develop advanced AI for autonomous vehicles intensifies, Chinese automakers are increasingly turning to NVIDIA to gain a competitive edge in global markets. BYD and its rivals are expanding sales beyond China, while competing with established Western brands in their home market.
"There's a massive number of Chinese automakers," said Danny Shapiro, NVIDIA Vice President for Automotive. "They have a lot of incentives in place to innovate, a lot of regulation that's favorable" to developing increasing levels of automated driving.
With production vehicles featuring DRIVE Thor expected as early as next year, the platform's 1,000 teraflops of performance and cutting-edge capabilities are poised to ensure safe and secure autonomous machines. As the automotive industry embraces generative AI and accelerated computing, NVIDIA DRIVE Thor is set to redefine the future of transportation.