Qualcomm Technologies and Google have announced an expansion of their long-standing partnership,

The expanded partnership brings together Snapdragon Digital Chassis and Google’s automotive software to help automakers deploy AI-driven, cloud-connected vehicles faster, while enabling long-term software updates and personalised in-car experiences.

Qualcomm Technologies and Google have announced an expansion of their long-standing partnership, aiming to speed up the shift toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and next-generation, AI-powered in-car experiences. The collaboration combines Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Digital Chassis platforms with Google’s automotive software stack to deliver scalable, secure solutions for global automakers.

Unveiled alongside demonstrations at CES 2026, the initiative builds on earlier work around Gemini-powered enterprise AI for automotive use cases. The companies said the enhanced architecture will allow vehicles to seamlessly blend on-device intelligence with cloud-based AI, enabling real-time personalisation, smarter voice interactions, and proactive assistance features that adapt to driver prefernces and context.

Accelerating SDV development

A central element of the partnership is the creation of a unified reference platform that aligns Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms with Google’s Android Automotive OS (AAOS) roadmap, starting with Android 17. This approach is designed to reduce development complexity for carmakers, helping them move from prototyping to production more quickly while maintaining consistency across vehicle models.

Qualcomm will act as a key scaling partner for AAOS-based SDVs, delivering pre-integrated and optimised software on its Digital Chassis platforms. This setup supports multiple vehicle domains, including digital instrument clusters with safety-critical elements, over-the-air software updates, and AI-driven fleet insights using telemetry data. According to the companies, this integrated model can significantly shorten time-to-market while improving software quality.

Cloud-first engineering and lifecycle support

The collaboration also places strong emphasis on cloud-native development. Qualcomm is introducing its Snapdragon vSoC virtual platform on Google Cloud’s Arm-based Axion infrastructure, allowing automakers to design, test, and validate vehicle software entirely in the cloud without relying on physical hardware. This enables distributed engineering teams to collaborate globally and scale development efforts more efficiently.

To address long-term software maintenance, Qualcomm is extending Android’s Project Treble framework to automakers using Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms. The initiative supports predictable upgrades across multiple hardware generations and includes a 10-year plan for critical software updates, ensuring vehicles remain secure and feature-rich throughout their lifecycle.

Both companies said the expanded partnership reflects the automotive industry’s transition toward AI-centric, software-led mobility, where continuous innovation and personalisation are becoming core differentiators for future vehicles.

By Advik Gupta