Volkswagen ties up with Microsoft's Cloud to develop self-driving software

Volkswagen AG has decided to  use Microsoft Corp's cloud computing services to help it streamline its software development efforts for self-driving cars. The car manufacturing company which owns brands such as Audi and Porsche is working on both self-driving cars for the future and driver-assistance features such as adaptive cruise control in current vehicles. But the company's brand had been developing those features independently.

Last year, Volkswagen consolidated some of those development efforts into a subsidiary called Car. Software to better coordinate among the makers, with each company handling its own work around the look and feel of the software while collaborating on core safety functions such as detecting obstacles.

But the various companies inside the group were still using different systems to develop that software and the deal announced recently will put them on a common cloud provider, said Dirk Hilgenberg, chief executive of Car. Software in an interview.

The Microsoft deal will also make deploying software updates to add new features to cars, a practice that helped set Tesla Inc apart from many rivals early on much easier.

In 2018, Volkswagen inked a deal with Microsoft to connect its cars to Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service. The recently inked deal means that the software updates will be developed on the same cloud that will then beam those updates down to the cars.

In practical terms, the deal means that cars that initially hit the road with a few driver-assistance features today could add new capabilities over time that bring them closer to autonomous driving, observed Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of cloud and artificial intelligence at Microsoft.