Nvidia expands self-driving partnerships with BYD, Nissan, Hyundai, Geely

Nvidia just pulled the automotive equivalent of signing every team in the league. At its GTC conference in San Jose, the chipmaker announced that BYD, Geely, Nissan, and Isuzu will adopt its DRIVE Hyperion platform for Level 4-capable vehicles, while Hyundai Motor Group and Kia are deepening an existing collaboration through their Motional robotaxi joint venture.

CEO Jensen Huang framed the moment with characteristic ambition, calling it the “ChatGPT moment” for autonomous vehicles.

The robotaxi play

The partnerships are one piece. The other is Nvidia’s plan to build a global robotaxi network in partnership with Uber, launching in the first half of 2027.

The initial fleet, powered by Nvidia’s DRIVE AV software, will hit the streets of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. From there, the company is targeting expansion to 28 cities worldwide by 2028.

Uber isn’t the only ride-hailing company on board. Bolt, Grab, and Lyft have also committed to leveraging the Nvidia platform.

Huang put a price tag on the opportunity during his presentation. “The autonomous vehicle revolution is here,” he said, describing it as “the first multitrillion-dollar robotics industry.”

What Nvidia is actually selling

The DRIVE Hyperion platform isn’t just a chip. It’s a full-stack autonomous driving solution comprising Halos OS, a safety architecture designed to meet the rigorous standards required for Level 4 autonomy; Alpamayo 1.5, Nvidia’s reasoning model that handles real-time decision-making; and Omniverse NuRec, a simulation tool that lets automakers test their vehicles in photorealistic virtual environments before putting them on real roads.

Why these partners matter

The Hyundai and Kia expansion is particularly interesting because it flows through Motional, their existing robotaxi joint venture. Motional has been operating pilot programs in Las Vegas and other cities, giving it real-world operational data that pairs well with Nvidia’s simulation capabilities.

The competitive landscape shifts

For Uber and the other ride-hailing platforms, the partnership offers a path to autonomous fleets without building the technology in-house. Uber’s previous attempt at self-driving, its Advanced Technologies Group, was sold to Aurora Innovation in 2020 after years of setbacks.

The 2027 launch timeline is aggressive but not implausible given the pace of progress in AI-driven autonomy. If Nvidia and Uber deliver on the 28-city target by 2028, it would represent the largest coordinated robotaxi deployment in history.

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