Software-defined Vehicle: 2025 Update

In this special episode, Madelyn Downs, Marketing Manager at ETAS, is joined by her colleague, Omar Alshabibi, Lead Global Product Manager, to reflect on the software-defined vehicle (SDV) news and announcements that already have been made this year, specifically at CES 2025. 

The two cover a lot in a short amount of time – the emergence of AI in general and in automotive and the SDV, differences in how OEMs are approaching AI and SDVs, and SDV trends and key things to watch as we move through 2025. 

Take a few minutes to check out their insights – you won’t be disappointed!

Thanks for listening!

• Email us at: contact.us@etas.com
• Learn more about ETAS on our website 
• Follow us on LinkedIn: @ETAS

Transcript

00:00:02 Voiceover

Welcome to the Empowering Tomorrow's Automotive Software Podcast, brought to you by ETAS, a single source of cutting-edge software and hardware solutions that make automotive embedded systems safe, smart, secure, and sustainable.

00:00:15 Voiceover

Each episode, we'll be joined by ETAS and industry experts to discuss how electrification, automation, and connectivity are impacting the automotive industry.

00:00:25 Voiceover

Now, sit back and enjoy the discussion.

00:00:32 Madelyn Downs

Welcome to all.

00:00:33 Madelyn Downs

I am Madelyn Downs.

00:00:34 Madelyn Downs

I'm responsible for marketing communications in North America at ETAS.

00:00:39 Madelyn Downs

You know, we are through the first two months of 2025 and the year has started out with a bang, especially with CES to kick us off.

00:00:46 Madelyn Downs

There has been no shortage of exciting innovations, particularly in the software defined vehicle space and with AI integration.

00:00:54 Madelyn Downs

We're seeing rapid advancements in the tooling software integration space.

00:00:58 Madelyn Downs

Today, we'll discuss key highlights, what caught our attention, and the biggest takeaways from this CES and the beginning of the year.

00:01:07 Madelyn Downs

My guest here joining me is Omar Alshabibi.

00:01:10 Madelyn Downs

He is the lead product manager at ETAS based in our Waterloo, Canada office.

00:01:16 Madelyn Downs

He thrives in supporting customers to fix their problems and is passionate about following trends in the automotive industry.

00:01:23 Madelyn Downs

He too spent the week at CES exploring new tech and connecting with industry leaders.

00:01:28 Madelyn Downs

Omar, welcome.

00:01:29 Omar Alshabibi

Thank you, Maddie, and hi to the listeners and thanks for having me.

00:01:33 Omar Alshabibi

I'm so excited to talk today briefly about what we have learned and observed at CES this year.

00:01:40 Madelyn Downs

Awesome.

00:01:40 Madelyn Downs

Yeah, let's kick it off.

00:01:42 Madelyn Downs

So my first question to you, what did you find most interesting from CES?

00:01:47 Madelyn Downs

Was there any news that surprised you or was of note?

00:01:52 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah, so the common theme at CES this year was the AI, as expected, artificial intelligence.

00:02:00 Omar Alshabibi

And it's really interesting to see how different players in different industries

00:02:07 Omar Alshabibi

have advanced or still advancing AI to make it accessible and usable for different sectors, right, such as robotiCES, energy, health, home, smart home, automotive in particular, that's what we focus on.

00:02:22 Omar Alshabibi

It's almost in every sector that it's utilizing advanced computers and powered by AI-based chips.

00:02:29 Omar Alshabibi

So it's everywhere, and we've seen this very obvious at the CES, and it's becoming part of consumers' expectations, to be quite honest.

00:02:39 Omar Alshabibi

It's all about bringing simplicity and efficiency to make complex tasks achievable, less time consuming, and enhancing customer experience and stuff like that.

00:02:53 Omar Alshabibi

So in a nutshell, what the overall theme at CES was the AI, but now

00:02:59 Omar Alshabibi

If you want to jump into automotive, and this is what we focus on as ETAS, and this is what the field and the industry that we serve.

00:03:10 Omar Alshabibi

So there has been almost like more than 50 or 60 announcements from different OEMs, mainly Asian and European OEMs at CES 2025.

00:03:21 Omar Alshabibi

Focusing on software-defined vehicle, advanced digital cockpit, combined with the AI, as we talked about, autonomous electric vehicle, and interesting things that we've observed as well, a lot of partnership discussions between silicon suppliers and OEMs directly to bring in AI and advanced

00:03:45 Omar Alshabibi

functionality into the automotive industry.

00:03:47 Omar Alshabibi

It's not a new, of course, but it, it's taking, gaining momentum and moving forward.

00:03:54 Madelyn Downs

Definitely more prevalent.

00:03:56 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah, exactly.

00:03:57 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah.

00:03:57 Omar Alshabibi

And so for instance, we can see, we've heard like, you know, during the ACES, Toyota and Hyundai are working now with Nvidia.

00:04:05 Omar Alshabibi

And, you know, in terms of, you know, mixing between AI and automotive, we've seen

00:04:11 Omar Alshabibi

NVIDIA kind of stole the spotlight this year at CES with their new announcement regarding the new Thor platform for its advanced AI capability.

00:04:22 Omar Alshabibi

And they talked about functional safety, some of their software components and hardware blocks, that it's ASIL-D and it's targeting automotive applications.

00:04:32 Omar Alshabibi

So that's really the interesting things that we've seen.

00:04:35 Omar Alshabibi

In addition to what we have observed that, you know, Asian OEMs

00:04:41 Omar Alshabibi

showcased many innovation at CES 2025, especially when it comes into user experience, engaging between, engagement between the drivers and the vehicle.

00:04:54 Omar Alshabibi

They had a really good presence this year.

00:04:56 Omar Alshabibi

Nice infotainment, cockpit, you know, environment, and of course, you know, almost all the vehicles they have presented was electric vehicles.

00:05:05 Madelyn Downs

Yeah, I noticed that as well.

00:05:07 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah.

00:05:08 Omar Alshabibi

And that is kind of the increasing global presence of automotive OEMs at CES.

00:05:14 Omar Alshabibi

But let's focus on US-based OEMs.

00:05:17 Omar Alshabibi

That was kind of the thing that we've observed that one.

00:05:20 Omar Alshabibi

It was interesting to see how the dynamic is changing and moving from having all the global OEMs presence, but we did not see this year that much of US-based OEMs at CES.

00:05:33 Omar Alshabibi

And like last year and the year before, there was kind of a different thing.

00:05:37 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah.

00:05:38 Madelyn Downs

Definitely.

00:05:38 Madelyn Downs

Yeah.

00:05:39 Madelyn Downs

More and more, the show is based in the US, but for the automotive space, that's almost the only thing that's part of the US in some ways, for sure.

00:05:47 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah, yeah.

00:05:47 Omar Alshabibi

Of course, but a lot of AI companies were driving the advancement, kind of US-based companies, and you can see this clearly.

00:05:54 Omar Alshabibi

But, you know, for the particular thing is the automotive industry that we have not seen, you know, that much focus of from the North American, US-based OEMs.

00:06:03 Omar Alshabibi

So,

00:06:05 Omar Alshabibi

How does that relate to us, and how do we bring this into ETAS and our journey when it comes into SDV?

00:06:13 Omar Alshabibi

We have showcased our wide range of software-based portfolio, focusing on advancing AI solution.

00:06:22 Omar Alshabibi

And the message we're trying to push for the audience within the automotive ecosystem is that ETAS is paving the road for efficient

00:06:32 Omar Alshabibi

way of enabling and advancing software functionality for HPC and overall E/E architecture through the tooling and middleware capabilities and all the software functionality that could run on ADAS sensors and what have you.

00:06:47 Omar Alshabibi

The good thing that we've also presented our embedded AI coder that has the ability to generate C code from a trained neural networks for embedded systems.

00:06:59 Omar Alshabibi

to improve efficiency, reduce costs, simplify development, improve time to market.

00:07:03 Omar Alshabibi

This goes back again to the overall big theme of AI, how to bring simplicity and efficiency to the consumer and how ETAS is actually bringing that simplicity, efficiency, improve time to market to the automotive market.

00:07:20 Omar Alshabibi

So that kind of the, maybe that was a lot of nutshell here, but this is the, you know, the, yeah.

00:07:25 Madelyn Downs

Yeah, no, thank you, Omar.

00:07:27 Madelyn Downs

No, and that's great.

00:07:27 Madelyn Downs

I think definitely too, I was able to see that embedded AI coder that we showed.

00:07:31 Madelyn Downs

And that was really, it was a nice demonstration to really show how we're starting to play in that space.

00:07:38 Madelyn Downs

And like you said, I don't think any other.

00:07:41 Madelyn Downs

I think every other automotive company that showcased and even automotive adjacent company that showcased something at CES talked AI.

00:07:49 Madelyn Downs

And like you said, it's been around now for about a year or so since it's really exploded, I think, but not a day goes by now that I don't either utilize AI in my day-to-day work or at least have a conversation evolving around it.

00:08:01 Madelyn Downs

So definitely, thanks for the insights.

00:08:04 Madelyn Downs

So, the industry, it's still crazy and busy and lots of announcements are coming out.

00:08:09 Madelyn Downs

So what other big trends have you seen so far in the year and what are things to watch regarding, especially STVs as we get into 2025?

00:08:19 Omar Alshabibi

So what I see, of course, from, you know, listening to the big players and, you know, observing how the automotive ecosystem is moving, there are a few things that

00:08:32 Omar Alshabibi

that we need to watch, and probably some of them is already happening.

00:08:37 Omar Alshabibi

We see the silicon suppliers, the system on chip silicon suppliers having more influence into automotive landscape and driving technology trends.

00:08:47 Omar Alshabibi

This is true, and this is not new again, but there's a lot of influence happening, especially how you develop, deploy, and drive the market.

00:09:00 Omar Alshabibi

There's always a technology push and market pull, right?

00:09:04 Omar Alshabibi

So we can see there's a balance, there's a lot of technology push from different players here to try to adopt and resolve customers' problems, but also we can see, we can see some market pull which eventually will get bigger and bigger.

00:09:21 Omar Alshabibi

evolution on the silicon suppliers that it's happening to accommodate and support all the requirements for autonomous vehicle and that it's definitely it's coming and how to enable software enabled fleet.

00:09:38 Omar Alshabibi

We talked about AI.

00:09:39 Omar Alshabibi

Now also we need to bring an AI back again into the discussion here.

00:09:44 Omar Alshabibi

It's I see like multi-model AI technology will be advanced.

00:09:50 Omar Alshabibi

and can be utilized in automotive manufacturing, advancing software development through car digitalization and so on.

00:09:58 Omar Alshabibi

So you can pick and choose between text or image to change it to whatever you want, data into an image and stuff like that, which of course this is used in a consumer market in a different industries, but eventually they will be used as a tool to enable the personalization and customer experience when it comes to interface with the VM.

00:10:21 Omar Alshabibi

to advance that SDV functionality and SDV experience.

00:10:26 Madelyn Downs

Yeah, definitely.

00:10:27 Madelyn Downs

That's great insights.

00:10:28 Madelyn Downs

And, you know, obviously us in the industry, when we talk SDV, we always, or at least personally, I can say, I always think of the vehicle itself and building to that proof point, right?

00:10:38 Madelyn Downs

But, you know, the average consumer, the average driver, they don't necessarily care what's under the hood or what computers run the car.

00:10:46 Madelyn Downs

But those multimodal AI technologies will really make the difference and impact

00:10:50 Madelyn Downs

as we move towards SDV for the end consumer.

00:10:54 Madelyn Downs

Really that personalization that we always talk about becoming that proof point and really seeing it expand even incrementally as we move towards SDV with the cars that are on the road or just the next generation versus maybe 5 to 10 years out in the market.

00:11:09 Madelyn Downs

All right, awesome.

00:11:10 Madelyn Downs

These are great insights.

00:11:11 Madelyn Downs

So the final question I wanted to chat with you on is, where do you think we are in our journey towards SDV, becoming more mainstream?

00:11:19 Madelyn Downs

And you know, both, I would love to hear your insights both, you know, on the industry as a whole and for us here at ETAS.

00:11:27 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah, I will start with my personal view and try to link it to what I see how the industry could go.

00:11:33 Omar Alshabibi

Of course, no one has a crystal ball.

00:11:37 Omar Alshabibi

I wish I have it.

00:11:39 Omar Alshabibi

But my personal view on this is that SDV journey has started already, and whether it's partially or gradually, the functionality will be deployed by different OEMs globally, and it will start with, based on the maturity of the solution.

00:11:56 Omar Alshabibi

in focusing on how could you bring in safety, bring in all the sensor fusion into the car, how to enable that interface between, regular interface between the vehicle and the OEM to prove efficiency, increase customer, enhance customer experience, provide that feedback loop between the vehicle and the OEM.

00:12:21 Omar Alshabibi

So that journey has started, it's being implemented, and it's again, it's different from one OEM to another based on needs, market, geographic, and stuff like that.

00:12:32 Omar Alshabibi

This will take, in order to get this into a real solid deployment of SDVs, you need to have a real collaboration from all different industry players, like OEMs, tier 1s, and tier 2s, and all the software providers that we talked about.

00:12:50 Omar Alshabibi

And the key point that I wanted to link between the SDV journey and what we discussed before on the, SDV in general outside the CES, it's how OEMs can differentiate themselves, right?

00:13:04 Omar Alshabibi

What value you're adding into your product, right?

00:13:09 Omar Alshabibi

And how you make the use and interface with your product.

00:13:15 Omar Alshabibi

it's in a different way compared to what you had in the past.

00:13:18 Omar Alshabibi

And that is what now it's changing consumer behavior, right?

00:13:25 Omar Alshabibi

I buy a car now that it's actually capable of connecting my phone, interface with the vehicle as if it's my phone, getting all the ADAS sensor data to protect me when I'm driving, having the ability to get a report when my car needs maintenance,

00:13:41 Omar Alshabibi

and sends back information to the OEM to improve the design of my car in the future or fixes things.

00:13:48 Omar Alshabibi

So that kind of thing that it's, it will eventually become a consumer and market expectation to have such functionality in your car when you buy or lease your vehicle.

00:13:59 Omar Alshabibi

So I think that it's what it's going to happen.

00:14:02 Omar Alshabibi

And we at ETAS, we are pushing towards that message and trying to enable our customers

00:14:08 Omar Alshabibi

develop and being efficient and driving all the different software components or building blocks.

00:14:15 Omar Alshabibi

I call them Lego pieces that we have, we've developed and we continue to develop to connect the dots between what OEMs want to offer and what ETAS can offer here and bring that flexibility and increase adoption of software-defined implementation.

00:14:33 Omar Alshabibi

so that's kind of the nutshell what I feel.

00:14:35 Omar Alshabibi

And of course, we'll continue to monitor the market and work with our partners and customers to make this reality and push this forward.

00:14:46 Madelyn Downs

Awesome.

00:14:47 Madelyn Downs

Yeah, those are super valuable insights, great insights.

00:14:50 Madelyn Downs

And that's why, you know, like we talked about at the beginning, you know, your passion for staying on top of these trends and keeping kind of your finger on the pulse there is definitely apparent.

00:14:59 Madelyn Downs

And that is why I was so glad that you could join us today.

00:15:02 Madelyn Downs

This has been great.

00:15:03 Madelyn Downs

These insights have been super valuable.

00:15:06 Madelyn Downs

And, you know, especially like you said, this industry is evolving so rapidly.

00:15:10 Madelyn Downs

And so for you to continue to monitor and for ETAS to continue to monitor and to see where we can support, you

00:15:17 Madelyn Downs

our customers and potential customers as we're on this journey and make this transition, it's been awesome.

00:15:22 Madelyn Downs

So, talking today, talking about AI is everywhere, many global players in the automotive industry, especially at CES, I think everyone is talking AI.

00:15:34 Madelyn Downs

You can't escape it.

00:15:35 Madelyn Downs

Many partnerships were announced and advanced in the industry.

00:15:40 Madelyn Downs

We're working together towards achieving that SDV adoption.

00:15:44 Madelyn Downs

And it's been very interesting for me to see silicon and SOC suppliers becoming more and more integral and influential in the automotive industry, as you spoke about.

00:15:52 Madelyn Downs

So, and like you said, this journey on SDV has already started.

00:15:57 Madelyn Downs

So we will continue to work openly and collaboratively as an industry to continue to push towards mass adoption.

00:16:04 Madelyn Downs

For sure.

00:16:05 Madelyn Downs

So, Omar, thank you for joining us.

00:16:08 Madelyn Downs

Again, loved talking with you, loved chatting with you, and looking forward to continuing our conversations throughout the year.

00:16:14 Madelyn Downs

And I'll turn it back to you.

00:16:17 Omar Alshabibi

Yeah, absolutely.

00:16:18 Omar Alshabibi

And thank you again for having me in this discussion.

00:16:22 Omar Alshabibi

And I look forward to discussing different topiCES in the future.

00:16:27 Madelyn Downs

Awesome.

00:16:28 Madelyn Downs

All right, well, everyone out there in podcast land, thank you for listening.

00:16:32 Madelyn Downs

This now concludes our episode, so please check back soon for a new one.

00:16:40 Voiceover

Thank you for joining this episode of the Empowering Tomorrow's Automotive Software Podcast.

00:16:44 Voiceover

Please leave a comment or review with your feedback or what you'd like to hear in future episodes.

00:16:49 Voiceover

To learn more about automotive embedded systems and ETAS's capabilities,

00:16:53 Voiceover

Visit our website at ETAS.

00:16:55 Voiceover

That's ETAS.com.