New Delhi

Tech giant Nvidia on Monday announced its plans to strengthen partnerships with Chinese automakers, including BYD, as they endeavour to develop self-driving vehicles and AI-infused infotainment systems to compete globally.

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BYD, which surpassed Tesla last year to become the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, is set to leverage Nvidia's upcoming generation of in-vehicle chips, known as Drive Thor, to enhance autonomous driving capabilities and other digital features.

Nvidia Vice President for Automotive, Danny Shapiro, highlighted BYD's adoption of Drive Thor during a conference call, stating that it will be integrated into BYD vehicles starting next year.

The collaboration aims to propel BYD's technological advancements across manufacturing processes, supply chain management, and the creation of virtual showrooms.

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Several Chinese automakers, including BYD, Xpeng, and GAC Aion's Hyper brand, revealed expanded partnerships with Nvidia on Monday at the chipmaker's GTC developer conference in San Jose, California.

Additionally, Zeekr, a subsidiary of Geely, and Li Auto had previously announced their intention to utilise Nvidia's Drive Thor technology.

These collaborations highlights Chinese automakers' pursuit of cutting-edge technology to bolster their global competitiveness, particularly as they aim to expand sales beyond China's borders and vie with established Western brands like Tesla in domestic markets.

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Nvidia's Danny Shapiro emphasised the eagerness of Chinese automakers to innovate and capitalise on favorable regulations to advance autonomous driving capabilities.

Nvidia also disclosed new collaborations in the automotive and industrial sectors during Monday's announcements. The company partnered with US software firm Cerence to adapt large language model artificial intelligence systems for in-car computing.

Furthermore, Nvidia is collaborating with Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo on large language model deployment.

Soundhound, a subsidiary of Nvidia, is set to utilise the company's technology to develop an in-vehicle voice command system, allowing vehicle owners to access information from a virtual owner's manual through speech commands.

Notably, Nvidia did not explicitly mention specific AI developers, such as OpenAI, in its discussions.

(With inputs from Reuters)