Qualcomm wrapped up its acquisition of Veoneer’s advanced driver assistance/self driving vehicle software arm on Monday, highlighting the San Diego company’s bid to become a key technology supplier to automakers as it diversifies beyond smartphones.
“This market is now getting to the point where the attach rate for this technology is going to be 100 percent,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm’s automotive business. “You will start to see this technology being needed for anything that moves. Everything is going to need a higher level of automated safety.”The Arriver deal will add about 1,100 workers, including in Europe and Detroit, to Qualcomm’s 45,000 global employee base.
Recently, Qualcomm added Snapdragon Ride to its automotive product line-up. It delivers Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and limited self-driving features. Instead, it is targeting Level 2+ and Level 3 autonomy. That means motorists remain behind the wheel but gain ADAS safety features and limited self-driving functionality.
The company is working on full autonomy, too. But the company believes it could take years for Level 4/5 driverless vehicles to become mainstream, in part because of the expense of layering in redundant, fail-safe technologies and regulatory hurdles.