Qualcomm and Google Expand Automotive Partnership for AI-Powered Vehicles

Qualcomm Technologies and Google announced an expansion of their automotive partnership on January 5, 2026, building on more than ten years of collaboration in the industry. The enhanced alliance aims to simplify the development of software-defined vehicles and accelerate the adoption of AI-powered features in cars.

The partnership integrates Qualcomm's Snapdragon Digital Chassis solutions with Google's automotive software and cloud services. This combination is designed to help automakers create next-generation vehicles equipped with agentic AI capabilities that can anticipate and adapt to driver needs.

The collaboration encompasses several key initiatives. The companies are developing intelligent mobility solutions that connect vehicles to the cloud using a flexible architecture combining on-device and cloud-based AI models. This approach enables real-time personalization and faster deployment of advanced features such as voice-driven assistants.

A unified reference platform is being established to accelerate development cycles for vehicle manufacturers. By aligning Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms with Google's Android Automotive OS roadmaps, starting with Android 17, the partnership creates a foundation for next-generation in-vehicle infotainment systems.

Qualcomm is serving as the lead scaling partner for Android Automotive OS for software-defined vehicles, delivering pre-integrated, optimized software on Snapdragon Digital Chassis platforms. The architecture supports multiple vehicle domains, over-the-air updates, and cloud-native development.

The companies are also introducing Snapdragon virtual system-on-chip platforms on Google Cloud, allowing automakers to design, test, and validate software entirely in the cloud without physical vehicle hardware. This capability leverages Google Cloud's Arm-based Axion bare metal instances for high-fidelity validation.

Additionally, Qualcomm is introducing Project Treble for Android Automotive OS lifecycle management. The initiative is designed to streamline Android updates across four generations of Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms covering over 14 individual system-on-chips, with a 10-year plan for critical software updates.

Patrick Brady, VP of Engineering at Google, stated that the collaboration integrates the company's software and AI capabilities with Qualcomm's hardware to create a unified, scalable platform for automakers.

Nakul Duggal, Executive Vice President and Group General Manager for Automotive at Qualcomm Technologies, described the expanded collaboration as uniting Snapdragon Digital Chassis platforms with Google's software and AI expertise to empower automakers in their transition to software-defined vehicles.

The partnership was showcased at CES 2026, where the companies demonstrated their AI-powered automotive solutions.