Stellantis, a Netherland-based multinational automotive manufacturer, entered into an agreement to acquire aiMotive, a Hungary-based developer of modular self-driving technology and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The deal is yet to be finalized and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Upon completion of the acquisition, aiMotive will operate as an independent subsidiary of Stellantis. Stellantis will establish a Board of Directors to oversee aiMotive separately, while aiMotive’s employees will be a part of Stellantis’ autonomous driving and artificial intelligence (AI) teams.

The acquisition is also expected to accelerate the mid-term development of Stellantis’ “STLA AutoDrive” platform, a system that offers Level 2–3 autonomous driver assistance capabilities (i.e., Level 2: the vehicles can control both the speed and the steering, but a safety driver must maintain full vigilance; and Level 3: the driver is not required to maintain full vigilance but must be able to take control if necessary). 

aiMotive’s product portfolio includes AI-based software, development and validation tools, and processing hardware for autonomous features of vehicles. Its key product offerings are 1) “aiDrive,” an automated driving software stack for all levels of autonomy that comes equipped with cameras, radars, LiDARs, and ultrasonic sensors; 2) “aiSim,” a virtual simulation environment; 3) “aiWire,” a neural processing unit for chips that compute AI for ADAS and autonomous driving: and 4) “aiData,” for AI operations and data tooling. aiMotive will continue to offer three of these core technologies (aiSim, aiWare, and aiData) to third-party customers even after the acquisition.

Stellantis is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed as a 50–50 cross-border merger between the Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group in 2021.

Analyst QuickTake: Stellantis’s efforts to strengthen the development of its driver assistance technologies rather than autonomous driving technology itself, follows Ford’s recent announcement to do the same after closing down its autonomous tech development unit Argo AI.