Chinese will use Nvidia self-driving tech

Nvidia said China’s Chery Automobile would use its self-driving technology that it has developed with Baidu and Friedrichshafen.

Chery is the first Chinese car maker to adopt the new system, Nvidia said. Chinese internet search firm Baidu and German auto supplier ZF have also selected Nvidia Drive for their autonomous vehicle computing platform development in China.

The outfit is a bit of a catch for Nvidia. Chery is one of China’s largest automakers, and having it on board as a partner is a way to ensure not only that Level 3 features will indeed make it to market, but that it should be affordable. Chery’s cars typically jack a lot of tech under the bonnet of lower-priced vehicles.

Nvidia already has partnerships in the autonomous vehicle industry with companies such as Tesla.

Nvidia, traditionally a maker of graphics chips for PCs, has been expanding its reach to newer technologies such as self-driving cars. There’s still no timeline on when Chery plans to bring these ZF-powered vehicles to market.