Volkswagen’s software house Cariad has announced plans to bolster its global development team with up to 1,700 new software and hardware developers and engineers worldwide in 2023.
Cariad is also establishing a new tech hub in the US. There, around 300 software developers and engineers will work on the automotive cloud and automated driving features.
At launch, Cariad plans to employ in its US tech hub around 300 software engineers and developers who previously worked for Volkswagen Group of America. Initially, they will focus on cloud technologies and infotainment. Cariad is based in the heart of two major technology ecosystems, the greater Seattle area and Silicon Valley, and develops automotive technology solutions in the areas of automotive cloud, digital vehicle experience and automated driving.
“The US is one of the hotspots of the global automotive market, where all the industry trends converge perfectly: major technology innovations, a competitive ecosystem of tech companies, start-ups and universities, and a tremendous pool of tech talent. With our local product team and tech hub, Cariad will not only drive the US-specific digital customer experience for our Volkswagen Group brands, but also develop solutions and software for the entire world,” said Dirk Hilgenberg, CEO of Cariad.
Urgently wanted: experts for SoC design, machine learning
One of the key solutions of the local US team is the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud: In close partnership with Microsoft, the local team is creating a unified backend for all Volkswagen Group brands – an important backbone for continuous over-the-air updates of software-defined vehicles. The first customer vehicles will be connected to the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud in 2024.
After recruiting around 1,500 new tech talents in 2022, Cariad continues its growth trajectory. In 2023, Cariad aims to grow by around 1,700 new technology experts around the world. For the US, Volkswagen’s automotive software company is looking for experts with specific profiles such as system-on-chip architects or machine learning data engineers.
The company is working to build and expand its own expertise in software and hardware development. The goal is to systematically expand key technologies for competition-relevant areas such as automated driving in order to keep control of these in-house and have a chance to differentiate the group’s brands from the competition. To do this, Cariad relies on acquisitions and strategic partnerships in addition to recruiting tech talent. The company’s presence at CES 2023 also served this purpose. Cariad’s activities at the show focused on insights into future business models around the software-defined vehicle, the underlying technology platforms, the development of automated driving, and the digital in-car experience including infotainment and gaming.
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