Here’s what Nvidia and Qualcomm recently revealed about the future of automotive intelligence
QUICK SUMMARY
Both Nvidia and Qualcomm are making big moves in the automotive technology space. Their latest advances in autonomous driving and connected cars were showcased at CES 2026 – and they’ll be on the road sooner than you think.
Both Nvidia and Qualcomm used this year’s CES tech show to unveil new automotive technologies that aim to improve both autonomous driving and vehicle intelligence.
While the past few years have been filled with claims about the near future of self-driving cars — a claim that’s still a decade old — the focus has instead been on the near future.
This was helped by both technology companies announcing partnerships with others. So instead of showing off an idea of what might theoretically be possible one day, Nvidia has revealed plans to roll out its Drive AI software in the new Mercedes CLA. On the same day, Qualcomm said that its new Snapdragon Elite car platforms will come with the D19 electric car from Leapmotor, which is part of the Stellantis car group.
Here’s a closer look at what both tech giants announced about cars at CES 2026:
Nvidia brings logic to self-driving cars with Alpamayo AI
(Image credit: Nvidia)
Instead of chasing the goal of complete autonomy anywhere, anytime, car companies and technology firms alike have realized that developing advanced second-level driver assistance is a realistic goal.
With its new Alpamayo family of open source AI models and tools, Nvidia is adding logic to self-driving technology. This, it says, will lead to cars that “see, think and act with human-like judgment,” and respond better to rare, complex situations.
Nvidia explained: “Traditional AV [autonomous vehicle] Architectures separate perception from planning, which can limit scaling when new or unusual situations arise. Recent advances in edge-to-edge learning have made great progress, but overcoming these long-term edge conditions requires models that can safely reason about cause and effect, especially when the conditions are not subject to the model’s training experience.”
Alpamayo addresses this by introducing a series of logical, logic-based models of language action. This technology gives self-driving cars the ability to think about novel or rare situations step by step, helping them navigate tricky situations, such as roadworks or a stuck car blocking the road. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said: “ChatGPT’s time for physical AI has arrived…
Nvidia also mentioned at CES 2026 how its new Drive AV technology should hit US roads by the end of 2026, starting with the Mercedes CLA – recently honored with European Car of The Year. Nvidia said its new technology will use artificial intelligence to “turn every car into a living, learning machine.”
The technology company added: “Nvidia Drive AV uses an end-to-end AI stack for basic driving, next to the corresponding classical safety stack – built on the Nvidia Halos safety system – which adds monitoring and safety. As a result, cars can learn from large amounts of real and artificial driving data to help drivers in the area of decisions such as safe and complex human navigation.”
All of this sounds promising, especially since Nvidia describes the new technology as enabling “level 2 advanced autopilot,” instead of reaching for the stars and aiming for level 4 or level 5 — the latter being a myth in this segment. Automatic parking in tight spaces is also suggested as a possible feature, along with improved active safety systems. There’s no exact word on when the technology will arrive, but I’d expect to see its features rolled out to the Mercedes CLA via over-the-air software updates next year.
Qualcomm and Leapmotor are launching the world’s first automotive supercomputer
(Image credit: Leapmotor)
Meanwhile, Qualcomm used CES 2026 to announce a partnership with automaker Leapmotor. This will result in the latest D19 flagship SUV being equipped with two Snapdragon Elite car platforms. Here the focus is on streamlining automotive electronics, reducing complexity, reducing costs and, of course, enabling more advanced AI throughout the vehicle, from the voice assistant to driver assistance systems.
Qualcomm says the collaboration will see Snapdragon Elite platforms take central control of infotainment, driver assistance, lighting, climate, doors and windows. The dual-chip setup will also provide “the headroom needed for real-time integration and advanced AI,” Qualcomm said.
Unpacking its capabilities even further, Qualcomm says the chipset supports up to eight digital displays – including multiple 3K and 4K outputs – and up to 18 audio channels. It will also handle aerial updates, remote diagnostics, vehicle control, driver assistance with up to 13 cameras, as well as radar, lidar and ultrasonic sensors, and vehicle communications such as GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and communication with emergency services.
The Leapmotor D19 is expected to arrive in China in the second quarter of 2026. It is designed as a fully electric SUV, and an extended-type vehicle that combines electric motors and a battery with a small engine to provide more charging on the move and increase range.
Commenting on the partnership, Qualcomm’s head of automotive Nakul Duggal said: “We are proud to help deliver the world’s first mass-produced integrated solution and to see our Snapdragon Elite automotive platforms drive the industry in mid-range computers and SDVs.” [software-defined vehicles] – to bring cutting-edge automotive technology to many car manufacturers and consumers.”
Speaking of more car manufacturers, after CES it was announced that Volkswagen Group and Qualcomm signed a Letter of Intent for the latter to deliver infotainment and communication technology powered by Snapdragon chips.
