On November 16, Qualcomm announced in New York a partnership with BMW Group to introduce the latest cutting-edge driver assistance technology and the Snapdragon Ride platform into BMW Group's next-generation advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) platforms.
Qualcomm stated that BMW will utilize a comprehensive range of ADAS/AD features provided by Qualcomm. Specifically, BMW will employ Qualcomm's custom-designed computer vision processing chips to analyze data from front, rear, and surround-view cameras, and will use Qualcomm's central computing chips and another set of Qualcomm chips to facilitate data exchange between the vehicle and cloud computing centers.
A spokesperson for BMW said that the new Qualcomm chips will be used in a series of electric models equipped with the "Neue Klasse" modular platform, which are set to begin production in 2025.
As the world's largest supplier of phone chips, Qualcomm has been seeking to diversify its chip business. Qualcomm indicated that more than one-third of its chip sales revenue now comes from chips for devices other than phones, such as chips for personal computers, automotive, and virtual reality headsets.

Among these, automotive chips are one of the key areas of business growth for Qualcomm. In the fiscal year 2021, Qualcomm's automotive business revenue reached $970 million (approximately 6.2 billion yuan), accounting for less than 4% of Qualcomm's total revenue, but its actual growth rate has surpassed the mobile phone business. It is estimated that in 10 years, the annual revenue of Qualcomm's automotive business will reach $8 billion (approximately 51.139 billion yuan).
Qualcomm has positioned itself in the fields of computing, connectivity, computer vision, advanced semiconductors, and driver assistance related to automotive and other industries. At the current stage, the number of smart connected cars using Qualcomm's solutions has reached 200 million, and Qualcomm has合作 with more than 25 automakers. The Snapdragon Automotive Digital Cockpit Platform has become the platform of choice for more than 20 of these automakers. Previously, Qualcomm has supplied information and entertainment system dashboard chips to companies like General Motors, and the collaboration with BMW represents Qualcomm's latest market progress in the field of driver assistance system chips.
Currently, the cooperation between Qualcomm and BMW is still in its early stages, and the two parties have not announced the range of vehicle models and specific autonomous driving solutions that will be covered in the future. However, Qualcomm's choice to collaborate with BMW in the field of autonomous driving essentially illustrates the unstoppable trend of car intelligence, leaving more room for imagination for the realization of more advanced autonomous driving features.
"The collaboration between the first-tier automaker BMW and the first-tier chip manufacturer Qualcomm is a typical example of cooperation between automakers and chip manufacturers." In recent years, it is no longer unusual for automotive manufacturers to choose to cooperate with chip manufacturers. Wang Xiaolong, research director at IC Insights, told China Electronics News that as automakers increasingly value chips, especially traditional car manufacturers, they will choose to cooperate with capable chip companies to jointly develop smart cars. This cooperation model will become the mainstream.