Volvo is taking its partnership with tech giant Nvidia up a notch as it plans to use new hardware and software in future vehicles that will have the latest in safety features as they provide automated driving from door to door.

The new tech is planned to debut in the next-generation cars that are part of Volvo’s recently announced product push, which will see the Swedish brand launch 13 new models by 2030. Nvidia’s know-how will feature in Level 3 autonomous driving systems, which allow drivers to look away while they handle steering, acceleration and braking.

Volvo XC90-style SUV in metallic grey parked in a photography studio, front grille visible.
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Volvo will benefit from Nvidia’s Hyperion sensor and computing architecture, Alpamayo driving software and the Halos SAFE operating system. The latter uses data from sources like on-road testing, exhaustive simulations and feedback from car fleets to evaluate and improve safety in ways that would be impossible through physical testing alone. Alpamayo is a family of AI models and tools that builds software for autonomous driving.

The Halos system will also help Volvo make the step up to Level 4 autonomy. Unlike Level 3, which requires the driver to be alert enough to step in straight away in the event of a warning from the car or danger on the road, it doesn’t need human attention. Or in other words, Level 3 is ‘eyes off’ driving, while Level 4 provides for more of a ‘mind off’ journey.

Nvidia’s software and hardware will be combined with Volvo’s highly regarded expertise in safety, and the results will be applied to internal-combustion and hybrid vehicles, not just EVs.

The importance of the technological shift was outlined by Volvo’s head of software development, Alwin Bakkenes, who pointed out how rapidly the company is changing.

“Automakers used to be very much like car-line-based development and working with various suppliers, and we have completely changed and migrated into being a full-tech stack company,” he said.

While Volvo hasn’t identified the vehicles that will spring from the 13-model expansion, its next EV will arrive in 2027, using the SPA3 architecture that was introduced for the EX60.