Mr. Joerg Grotendorst reports

GENERAL MOTORS, MAGNA, AND WIPRO TEAM UP TO DEVELOP AUTOMOTIVE SOFTWARE MARKETPLACE: 'SDVERSE'

General Motors (GM), global automotive supplier Magna International Inc., and leading technology services and consulting company Wipro Ltd., have teamed up to develop a B2B (business-to-business) sales platform for buying and selling automotive software. The platform, called SDVerse, aims to revolutionize the automotive software sourcing and procurement process by providing a matchmaking platform for buyers and sellers of embedded automotive software.

Unlike the traditional captive software development approach, SDVerse focuses on connecting automotive software buyers and sellers through a transparent and efficient digital platform. Sellers can list their software's features and attributes, while buyers can easily search and explore the available software products through a comprehensive catalogue.

Sales and purchases can be connected directly through the platform, offering a seamless experience for all participants. SDVerse is currently in development and expected to feature hundreds of automotive software products, and participants from across the automotive value chain are invited to join. In addition to the founding members, an exclusive launch partner group is already in place led by Ampere, FEV, Forvia, HL Mando, NXP Semiconductors, TTTech Auto and Valeo.

Prashant Gulati has been named chief executive officer of SDVerse, effective March 5, 2024. Mr. Gulati has more than two decades of experience launching and leading automotive organizations, and is a thought leader in software technology, maximizing the potential of emerging technologies, such as AI (artificial intelligence), in the automotive industry.

"The market for automotive software is expected to nearly double this decade, potentially outpacing the growth of software development talent pools," said Harmeet Chauhan, global head, Wipro Engineering Edge, Wipro. "The current paradigm for software sourcing will likely not be able to overcome this growing gap without sacrificing both profitability and the auto industry's aspirations for software-defined vehicles. SDVerse addresses these pain points, offering a wide range of benefits across the industry."

"Automotive-grade software development is rapidly transforming, and we all need to ask ourselves how we get customers really unique differentiating features faster. Part of that is identifying the common underlying code that can be shared in the name of higher quality and lower costs for our end customers," said Dan Nicholson, vice-president, strategic technology initiatives, General Motors. "This first-ever software marketplace creates an independent, industry-driven one-stop-shop for embedded systems software, significantly expanding access to new innovations, helping to drive down cost, and allowing companies like GM to implement critical software more quickly."

Potential key subscriber benefits of SDVerse include:

• Reduced cost, time and complexity by eliminating duplication of efforts, enabling reuse of already-developed software and allowing higher economies of scale by bundling software orders through multiple clients;
• Higher quality of software, which has already undergone increased cycles of testing and validation. Additionally, the free-market approach improves customer vehicle quality through competition;
• Improved resource allocation, which allows OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and suppliers to deploy engineering resources to innovate in areas that improve and differentiate driver and passenger experiences, and minimize time spent "reinventing the wheel";
• Improved revenue for sellers, through an expanded client base and opportunities to monetize existing IP (intellectual property);
• New approach to software sourcing, allowing companies to source software separately from hardware, and to create an attractive alternative to OEM insourcing of software development.

"Magna's participation in SDVerse is driven by our ongoing commitment to foster collaboration and drive the automotive industry forward," said Joerg Grotendorst, senior vice-president, corporate R&D (research and development) at Magna. "By embracing this innovative platform, we aim to create a more interconnected ecosystem that encourages OEMs, suppliers and specialty software developers to collaborate and co-create cutting-edge solutions. SDVerse represents a transformative opportunity to revolutionize software development, sales and sourcing processes, ultimately accelerating the industry's transition to the software-defined vehicle."

GM, Magna and Wipro collectively designed and developed SDVerse, which will be governed collaboratively by the founding members. Global strategy consultant Roland Berger has served as the project's strategic adviser since the program's inception.

Konstantin Shirokinskiy, partner, Roland Berger, added: "SDVerse offers a blueprint for OEMs and suppliers to address their embedded software needs more efficiently. It frees up scarce software engineering resources required to roll out new differentiated software features, reorganizes development timelines to more quickly develop better SW-enabled vehicles, and ensures software is valued properly. Companies can streamline their operations, becoming more focused, efficient and profitable."

On Thursday, April 4, leaders from GM, Magna and Wipro will participate in a livestream panel discussion to provide further depth and insights into SDVerse. To register, and to learn more about SDVerse, visit the SDVerse website.

Note: Ampere is the electric vehicle and software pure player of Renault Group.

About Magna International Inc.

Magna is more than one of the world's largest suppliers in the automotive space. It is a mobility technology company built to innovate, with a global, entrepreneurial-minded team of over 179,000 employees across 342 manufacturing operations and 104 product development, engineering and sales centres spanning 28 countries. With 65-plus years of expertise, the company's ecosystem of interconnected products combined with its complete vehicle expertise uniquely positions it to advance mobility in an expanded transportation landscape.