Qualcomm will provide so-called system-on-chips (SoCs) for Cariad’s platform, which aims to allow automated driving up to Degree 4 standards, which means the car can handle all aspects of driving in most situations without human intervention.

Cariad, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, announced on Tuesday that it will use Qualcomm chips to build autonomous driving software, which the German automaker has dubbed the “backbone” of its future strategy.

There were no financial details provided by Qualcomm or Cariad

“We’ll get system-on-chips (SoCs) designed to allow assisted and automatic driving capabilities as much as Degree 4 from Qualcomm, and knowledgeable in chip design with over 140,000 patents,” Volkswagen Chief Govt Herbert Diess mentioned on LinkedIn.

“The chips of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Journey portfolio can be utilized in all Group autos with the unified Cariad Software program era beginning in the last decade,” Diess added.

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest automaker, plans to expand its current relationship with Intel Corp’s MobilEye and is already in talks to do so, he said. After a conflict with labor representatives, Diess took over Cariad’s seat on the carmaker’s administration board, calling it “perhaps the most audacious endeavor of our entire industry to tap into possibly the most related revenue swimming pools of the future.”

In response to reports of Cariad delays, Diess stated that it may take two lifecycles to fully comprehend the project: “So I want to say to the critics throughout the group: it’s better to work together on development than to simply complain.