Software is becoming the central differentiating factor in vehicles—more and more functions are no longer created through hardware, but through code. This significantly increases complexity and calls for new centralized architectures as well as collaborative development models.

Non-differentiating software components no longer need to be developed in-house: open platforms and open-source approaches enable shared standards, higher development speed, and more efficient use of resources. This gives rise to new development ecosystems, shared toolchains, and cross-company collaboration between OEMs, suppliers, and technology companies. 

At the same time, requirements for hardware are increasing. High-performance, flexible, and energy-efficient architectures are in demand—from open standards such as RISC-V to chiplet technologies. This session shows how vehicles are evolving into a highly integrated, open, and software-centric platform—and what opportunities this creates for industry, research, and start-ups.