By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) – Qualcomm (NASDAQ:) on Tuesday mentioned it was teaming up with Alphabet (NASDAQ:)’s Google to supply a mixture of chips and software program that can let automakers develop their very own AI voice assistants utilizing know-how from the 2 companies.
Qualcomm’s chips have lengthy powered cellphones with Google’s Android working system and the corporate has expanded into the automotive enterprise, with chips that may energy each a automobile’s dashboard and automatic driving methods which might be utilized by Normal Motors (NYSE:) and others. On Tuesday, Qualcomm mentioned it’s working with Google to create a model of the corporate’s Android Automotive OS that can run easily on Qualcomm chips.
Whereas many customers are accustomed to Google’s Android Auto and Apple (NASDAQ:) CarPlay that show apps from a cellphone when plugged right into a car, Google’s Android Automotive OS is an providing that automakers use behind the scenes to energy a car computing methods. Qualcomm and Google mentioned automakers will be capable of use the joint providing and Google’s AI know-how to create voice assistants which might be distinctive to an automaker and might work with out counting on a driver’s cellphone.
“Usually, now we have operated collectively, however independently – we plan a whole lot of issues collectively, however we go to prospects individually,” Nakul Duggal, group supervisor for automotive at Qualcomm, mentioned of the Qualcomm-Google relationship. “We determined we must always take into consideration this in a different way as a result of it should cut back a whole lot of friction and confusion.”
Qualcomm on Tuesday additionally rolled out two new chips, one referred to as Snapdragon Cockpit Elite to energy dashboards and one other referred to as Snapdragon Trip Elite for self-driving options. The corporate mentioned Mercedes-Benz (OTC:) Group plans to make use of the Snapdragon Elite Cockpit chip in future autos, although the 2 corporations didn’t specify when or wherein autos the chip will seem.
