NVIDIA on Jan 6. announced a series of major advancements in the development of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology at CES, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of self-driving cars. The company unveiled critical safety and cybersecurity certifications for its DRIVE AGX™ Hyperion platform, while also securing new partnerships with global automakers and mobility leaders, underscoring the growing adoption of NVIDIA’s AI-powered solutions across the automotive sector.
Safety Milestones Set New Industry Standard
NVIDIA’s autonomous vehicle platform, DRIVE AGX™ Hyperion, has successfully passed rigorous safety assessments from two of the industry’s most respected certification bodies—TÜV SÜD and TÜV Rheinland.
Notably, the DRIVE AGX platform is the first and only end-to-end solution for autonomous driving, combining a powerful system-on-chip (SoC), sensor suite, automotive operating system (DriveOS), and safety-critical driving stack into one unified platform. This modular and scalable design allows automakers to customize and upgrade their AV systems seamlessly, providing a future-proof solution for both passenger and commercial vehicles.
In a statement, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the significance of these achievements, stating, “The next wave of autonomous vehicles will rely on physical AI world foundation models to understand and interact with the real world, and NVIDIA DRIVE is purpose-built for this new era, delivering unmatched functional safety and AI.”
Key safety milestones include:
- ISO 21434 Cybersecurity Process Certification from TÜV SÜD, ensuring the security of automotive SoCs, platforms, and software engineering processes.
- ISO 26262 Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) D certification for NVIDIA’s DriveOS 6.0, ensuring robust functional safety for autonomous driving applications.
- UNECE Safety Assessment by TÜV Rheinland, confirming compliance with international safety requirements for complex electronic systems.
NVIDIA also unveiled the opening of its DRIVE AI Systems Inspection Lab, which will help partners in the autonomous driving ecosystem ensure their products meet evolving safety and cybersecurity standards.
DRIVE AGX Thor Powers Next-Generation Vehicles
Building on the success of the DRIVE Orin™ platform, NVIDIA introduced the latest iteration of its AV system—DRIVE AGX Thor. This next-generation SoC is powered by NVIDIA’s cutting-edge Blackwell architecture, offering unparalleled performance for processing complex AI workloads. Designed to handle the most demanding applications in autonomous driving, including generative AI and large language models, DRIVE Thor will enable AVs to navigate complex road environments with humanlike precision.
“Autonomous vehicles are now at the threshold of mass deployment, and with DRIVE Thor, we’re unlocking the potential for AV 2.0—vehicles that can safely navigate the most challenging road scenarios,” Huang added.
The DRIVE Thor platform is optimized for seamless integration with existing DRIVE software, enabling developers to future-proof their applications with minimal effort. In addition to in-vehicle computing, NVIDIA’s ecosystem also includes DGX™ systems for training AI models, and the Omniverse™ platform for simulation and validation, both running on NVIDIA OVX™ systems.
Global Automotive Ecosystem Expands with New Partnerships
NVIDIA also announced several major new partnerships, underscoring its growing role in the global autonomous vehicle ecosystem. Leading automakers and technology companies, including Toyota, Aurora, and Continental, have all joined forces with NVIDIA to develop next-generation, highly automated, and autonomous vehicle fleets.
- Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, will use NVIDIA’s DRIVE AGX Orin platform for its next-generation vehicles, which will feature advanced driving assistance systems built on the safety-certified NVIDIA DriveOS.
- Aurora and Continental have entered into a long-term strategic partnership to deploy driverless trucks at scale, powered by NVIDIA DRIVE. The partnership will integrate NVIDIA’s accelerated compute into the Aurora Driver, an SAE level 4 autonomous-driving system that Continental plans to mass-manufacture in 2027.
Other major companies adopting NVIDIA DRIVE AGX for their autonomous vehicle roadmaps include Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Cars, Lucid Motors, Rivian, BYD, Wayve, and Zoox, among others. This broad adoption is helping NVIDIA expand its automotive business, which is projected to grow to approximately $5 billion in fiscal year 2026.
Transforming the Automotive Industry with AI
As the automotive industry shifts towards greater automation, NVIDIA is playing a critical role in enabling the next generation of intelligent, software-defined vehicles. With more than 15,000 engineering years invested in vehicle safety, NVIDIA’s platforms provide the compute power, AI software, and safety protocols needed to meet the complex demands of autonomous driving.
“The autonomous vehicle revolution has arrived,” Huang concluded. “With our advanced AI and computing technologies, we are transforming one of the world’s largest industries, enabling safer, smarter, and more sustainable mobility solutions for the future.”
With its DRIVE AGX platform and the expanding ecosystem of strategic partners, NVIDIA is poised to drive the next wave of innovation in autonomous vehicles, making self-driving cars safer, smarter, and more accessible to consumers worldwide.
