Dive Brief:
- General Motors, automotive supplier Magna, and technology services and consulting company Wipro Limited plan to launch a digital marketplace for software-defined vehicles, dubbed SDVerse, according to a Magna press release on Tuesday.
- SDVerse aims to match buyers and sellers of embedded automotive software. Sellers can describe their software’s features and characteristics, while buyers can search and learn about software offered by a wide range of vendors.
- Prashant Gulati will serve as CEO of SDVerse, effective March 5.
Dive Insight:
Automakers’ demand for software and related technologies is increasing as vehicles gradually transform into smartphones on wheels.
“The market for automotive software is expected to nearly double this decade, potentially outpacing the growth of software development talent pools,” said Harmeet Chauhan, global head of Wipro Engineering Edge at Wipro Limited, in the release.
However, recent studies suggest car companies and their supply chains are not ready for a more software-defined future. A recent AlixPartners survey found only 1 in 4 automakers and Tier 1 suppliers are fully prepared for software-defined vehicles. Moreover, a September report from Deloitte found car companies lack the ability to develop the technology for software-defined vehicles internally, making it necessary to partner with suppliers and other stakeholders.
“The current paradigm for software sourcing will likely not be able to overcome this growing gap without sacrificing both profitability and the auto industry’s aspirations for software defined vehicles,” Chauhan said.
As a result, vehicle manufacturers, including the Volkswagen Group, are partnering with other companies to reinvent their products for electric and autonomous vehicles. SDVerse has the potential to help automakers adopt new technologies faster and at lower costs by allowing them to use more off-the-shelf software, said Dan Nicholson, vice president of strategic technology initiatives at GM, in a statement.
“SDVerse offers a blueprint for OEMs and suppliers to address their embedded software needs more efficiently,” added Konstantin Shirokinskiy, a partner at Roland Berger who served as the project’s advisor, in a statement. “It frees up scarce software engineering resources required to roll out new differentiated software features, reorganizes development timelines to more quickly develop better [software-enabled] vehicles, and ensures software is valued properly.”
Unlike other sourcing approaches, SDVerse allows source software independent of hardware and avoids the costs associated with developing software in-house, according to the release.
Wipro and Magna will each hold a 27% stake in the new software company, with GM holding the remaining 46% stake, according to a regulatory filing.
FEV, Forvia, HL Mando, NXP Semiconductors, TTTech Auto, Valeo and Ampere — Renault Group’s EV and software division — will join the SDVerse’s launch.
Gulati, SDVerse’s CEO, served in several roles for EV startup Faraday Future, including vice president of strategy, from 2016 to 2023, according to Gulati’s LinkedIn profile.
SDVerse is hosting a livestream event about its future products and services on April 4.
