Nvidia and Auto Industry Join Forces to Revive Self Driving Technology

Major technology and automotive companies are forming new partnerships to push forward self-driving vehicles after years of setbacks and high development costs, with much of the momentum on display at CES 2026 in Las Vegas.

The self-driving car sector has struggled with expensive delays and safety challenges, but firms including Nvidia, Lucid, Nuro and Uber announced collaborations to accelerate autonomous mobility. Nvidia introduced its latest AI-driven platform, Alpamayo, which will play a central role in powering robotaxi projects with several partners.

In addition, cloud provider AWS and German supplier Aumovio confirmed deals to support commercial autonomous vehicle deployments, while Bosch and autonomous trucking company Kodiak AI expanded efforts in hardware and sensor production for self-driving trucks.

Mercedes-Benz revealed plans to launch an advanced driver-assistance system in the US later this year that uses Nvidia’s technology to enable hands-on autonomous driving on city streets. Other traditional automakers such as GM and Ford have scaled back their in-house full autonomy projects, shifting focus to systems that can already generate revenue.

Industry analysts say artificial intelligence and generative tools are helping reduce development costs and speed validation of autonomous systems, yet full Level 5 self-driving vehicles that require no human involvement still face major hurdles because of unpredictable real-world conditions. China’s rapid progress in Level 3 automation has also intensified competition for Western companies.

Author: Kieran Seymour