AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – NXP Semiconductors NV, the world’s largest maker of automotive computer chips, said on Thursday it had unveiled a new platform that will simplify and speed up software development for its customers.
The platform, which integrates software from partner companies and a new line of advanced NXP chips, enables the standardization of software development for many of the ever-growing number of electronic systems used in cars.
NXP’s customers include major car manufacturers and their primary or Tier-1 suppliers, with the new platform used for power management, data processing and networking throughout the car. It will not be used for advanced driver assistance systems or main screen displays.
“Our role is to stay in the background, and the glory is for the OEMs,” said Henri Ardevol, general manager of automotive at NXP, referring to customers.
Software partners on the platform include “the movers and shakers … of the automotive industry in relation to the software interface … that’s between the operating system and the actual application,” he said.
These include Accenture, ArcherMind, Blackberry QNX, Elektrobit, ETAS, Green Hills Software, Sonatus, Synopsys, TTTech Auto, Vector Informatik GmbH and Wind River.
He said the measure of the platform’s success will be whether it reduces software development time and adoption.
NXP, with a market capitalization of $63 billion, is headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and is listed on the Nasdaq. The name of the new platform is S32 CoreRide.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)