Microsoft announces new partners for its Connected Vehicle Platform

At Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) today, Microsoft announced new partners for Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform (MCVP) and also announced Microsoft for Startups: Autonomous Driving program.

Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform is a cloud framework through which car manufacturers can deliver the following services to car owners.

• In-vehicle experiences
• Autonomous driving
• Advanced navigation
• Customer engagement and insights
• Telematics and prediction services
• Connectivity and over the air updates (OTA)

The Volkswagen Group and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance are already using Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform. Microsoft today announced that following partners are joining the program.

• LG Electronics’ webOS Autoplatform offers an in-vehicle, container-capable OS that brings the third party application ecosystem created for premium TVs to in-vehicle experiences. webOSAuto supports the container-based runtime environment of MCVP and can be an important part of modern experiences in the vehicle.
• Faurecia is leveraging MCVP to create disruptive, connected and personalized services inside the Cockpit of the Future to reinvent the on-board experience for all occupants.
• Cubic Telecom is a leading connectivity management software provider to the automotive and IoT industries globally. They are one of the first partners to bring seamless connectivity as a core service offering to MCVP for a global market. The deep integration with MCVP allows for a single data lake and an integrated services monitoring path.

Microsoft for Startups: Autonomous Driving program’s aim is to accelerate the growth of startups working on autonomous driving. In addition to that $120,000 USD of free Azure cloud credits, selected startups will receive the following from Microsoft.

• Access to our top engineers and program managers working on autonomous driving infrastructure technology and solutions.
• 1:1 architectural sessions with Microsoft Cloud Engineers.
• Early access to autonomous driving capabilities on Azure.
• Potential co-development opportunities.

For business enablement, startups will receive benefits like:

• Opportunities to expand your network by becoming a part of Microsoft’s autonomous driving ecosystem. Many of our partners have found their next big customer or partner at one of our automotive networking receptions and other events.
• Joint customer opportunities.
• Marketing and amplification support.
• Preferred showcase opportunities at industry events and conferences.
• Visibility to M12 (formerly Microsoft Ventures) for potential investment opportunities.

Learn more about this program here.

Source: Microsoft