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Qualcomm expands its automotive footprint at CES 2025

Software remains the real test.

David Harold

Qualcomm announced major automotive deals at CES 2025, with Leapmotor, Mahindra, and Hyundai Mobis adopting its Snapdragon Digital Chassis. Its hardware is proven, but software remains the challenge. Rivals like Mobileye and Nvidia lead in ADAS, and automakers demand reliability. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride Vision System aims to compete, but trust takes time. A partnership with Amazon highlights its AI ambitions, but execution is key. Qualcomm is making bold moves—now it must prove its software can keep up.

What do we think? Qualcomm has the hardware. It has the partnerships. And maybe it has the software. Now it needs to prove that its software stack can deliver, not just in lab tests but in real-world performance at scale. The auto industry doesn’t just buy features—it buys reliability. And in software-defined vehicles, that’s the ultimate benchmark. We spoke with Qualcomm product managers at CES 2025 to get the pulse of what they are thinking, and it was clear the thing keeping them awake at night is whether they have the software stack to compete.

Digital cockpit
Future cars, sorry, “digital cockpits,” might look like this. (Source: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm automotive at CES 2025

At CES 2025, Qualcomm announced a wave of deals for the Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform for next-generation vehicles. Their PR insisted that it was because each partner insisted on their own press release, but we think the idea was more shock and awe, to reinforce Qualcomm as a more significant player in the space than rival Nvidia.

emails
A snapshot from Qualcomm’s CES press email—so many stories!

Leapmotor, Mahindra, Hyundai Mobis, Garmin, and others are now integrating Qualcomm’s technology, expanding its reach across digital cockpits, ADAS, and AI-driven in-car experiences. But while the hardware is proven, and with a wide range of required certifications for reliability, safety, and security, Qualcomm faces a big challenge: proving it can deliver the software stack in an industry where incumbents have a head start. 

standards
Hardware standards met for automotive. (Source: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm has spent years positioning itself as the leader of the software-defined vehicle, pushing its Snapdragon Ride, Car-to-Cloud, and ADAS platforms as full-stack solutions. The pitch is good: scalable compute, over-the-air updates, and integrated AI to power everything from infotainment to driver assistance. But execution is where the pressure is mounting as the incumbents start to respond to new players like Qualcomm and Nvidia.

The automotive software space is dominated by deeply embedded players like Mobileye, and long-standing Tier 1 suppliers that have spent decades refining autonomous driving algorithms, safety certification processes, and deep vehicle integration. Qualcomm’s challenge isn’t just building the hardware—it’s convincing automakers that its software can match the reliability, security, and scalability of these entrenched and proven systems. Automotive is slow to adopt new suppliers, but then very slow to change afterwards, and nothing if not conservative to the core.

Its latest collaboration with Amazon suggests Qualcomm is doubling down on cloud and AI-driven services, areas where it can add differentiation. Meanwhile, partnerships with Garmin, Desay SV, Panasonic Automotive, and Alps Alpine reinforce its pitch for digital cockpits and in-cabin experiences—an area where they already have momentum.

But the real test lies in ADAS and autonomous driving. Qualcomm is pushing its Snapdragon Ride Vision System, an open, modular ADAS platform designed to scale from basic driver assistance to full autonomy. Unlike closed systems from competitors, Qualcomm’s approach allows automakers to customize and integrate third-party software, which could be a strength—or a complication if OEMs prefer turnkey solutions.

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