Porsche AG and Applied Intuition, a Silicon Valley-based startup, have partnered to jointly develop automotive software, the companies announced on March 27.
Under the deal, Applied Intuition will give Porsche tools for end-to-end software validation and help the automaker manage and update its vehicle software. Porsche also invested an undisclosed amount in the startup’s recent $250 million funding round, which Applied Intuition will use to develop generative AI and recruit engineers, according to a press release.
“Applied Intuition has been an important software partner for us and will help us to better understand software in every part of the vehicle,” Michael Steiner, a member of Porsche AG’s research and development board, said in a statement.
As automakers transition to building more software-defined vehicles capable of receiving over-the-air updates, integrating software from different vendors into a vehicle software ecosystem can be challenging.
“Software and AI development is very different from traditional hardware-driven automotive development,” Applied Intuition CEO Qasar Younis said in a press release. “Integrating and updating different software and AI components can be especially challenging, and that is where our expertise comes in as an AI-first software company.”
Recent studies suggest car companies and their supply chains are not ready for a more software-defined future. In January, an AlixPartners survey found only 1 in 4 automakers and Tier 1 suppliers are fully prepared for SDVs. Moreover, a September report from Deloitte found car companies cannot develop the technology for software-defined vehicles internally, making it necessary to partner with suppliers and other stakeholders.
However, overreliance on suppliers can put automakers at risk of losing control over the intellectual property and technology used in their vehicles.
“The common goal is the joint development in different fields of automotive software while maintaining software ownership and reducing dependencies on black-box suppliers,” according to the Applied Intuition press release.
Applied Intuition declined to provide additional details about its software partnership with Porsche.
