Volvo Partners with Blackwell GPU for Software-Defined Cars

Volvo Cars made a significant leap forward this week by introducing its first software-defined vehicle, powered by the cutting-edge Orin processor from Nvidia. The company also revealed plans to incorporate the Blackwell GPU architecture into its future models. This move marks a strategic shift towards advanced technology integration in the automotive industry.

Specifically, Volvo Cars is leveraging the Orin processor in its EX90 electric vehicle, equipped with DriveOS software. The company is working on a common software stack that will eventually transition to the Thor chip, based on the Nvidia Blackwell GPU architecture. This transition underscores Volvo's commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation in the electric vehicle space.

Furthermore, Volvo Cars' subsidiary Zenseact is utilizing the powerful Nvidia DGX data center, featuring the Nvidia H100 Tensor Core GPU for AI model training in Europe. The data center's NVLink Switch System enables the connection of up to 256 H100 GPUs, facilitating accelerated exascale workloads. Notably, the H100 GPU boasts a dedicated Transformer Engine designed to tackle trillion-parameter language models.

The introduction of the EX90 represents a milestone for Volvo Cars, as it becomes the first vehicle to adopt the Volvo Cars Superset tech stack. This comprehensive system encompasses a unified core of systems, modules, software, and hardware, with over-the-air update capabilities. The Superset tech stack serves as a versatile foundation that can be configured in various ways to cater to different models within Volvo's product lineup.

Anders Bell, Chief Engineering & Technology Officer at Volvo Cars, emphasized the transformative impact of the Superset tech stack, stating, "Our engineers will work on one superset, constantly improving, growing, and expanding its capabilities and features. This allows for dramatically improved quality, increased speed-to-market, and continually better cars for our customers."

Volvo's commitment to innovation extends to its upcoming models, such as the EX60 midsize SUV built on the SPA3 electric technology base. This platform represents a significant advancement over its predecessor, SPA2, offering enhanced core computing capabilities and scalability. The SPA3 architecture is designed to support a range of vehicles, from larger SUVs to compact models, while driving down production costs through improved efficiency.