Red Hat has announced a collaboration with Nissan to help the car maker build its next-generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) platform. Under the agreement, Red Hat’s In-Vehicle Operating System will provide a standardized, scalable Linux foundation for Nissan’s Scalable Open Software Platform (SW PF).
Nissan reportedly identified Red Hat as a partner capable of sustaining an automotive software foundation over an extended period of time, with the technical depth required to power vehicles that will remain on the road for decades with a modern operating system.
Nissan will use Red Hat’s open-source technology to provide a scalable foundation for high-performance compute. According to the software developer, by decoupling application development from the underlying hardware, Nissan can update vehicle features with the agility of a smartphone while maintaining the rigorous safety and security standards required for the road. Building on the proven reliability and security of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System provides a foundation where AI is a core component of the vehicle’s DNA. This will reportedly move Nissan beyond traditional silos toward an AI-native architecture, where AI-driven workflows can streamline validation cycles and improve developer productivity to exceed customer expectations.
Francis Chow, vice president and general manager of the in-vehicle operating system at Red Hat, said, “The shift toward software-defined vehicles requires a fundamental change in how automotive software is developed and maintained. Through our collaboration with Nissan, we are working to deliver a reliable, open-source foundation for the next generation of in-vehicle computing and establish a standardized platform that supports long-term innovation and scalability for the global automotive industry.”
Kazuma Sugimoto, general manager of the SDV software platform development department at Nissan Motor, added, “Nissan is taking direct ownership of our software development lifecycle to better serve our customers in the mobility era. We chose Red Hat because they provide the technical depth required for a mission-critical platform that must remain on the road for decades. This joint engineering initiative for our next-generation central vehicle computer gives us the agility to pivot and scale innovation across our global fleet.”
In related news, Hyundai Mobis accelerates SDV and ADAS validation with large-scale data integration system
