BMW and Qualcomm announce jointly developed driver assistance system

Qualcomm’s driver-assistance system Snapdragon Ride Pilot on the electric SUV, offering hands-free highway driving, automatic lane changes and parking assistance. The jointly developed software stack announced today will be powered by Snapdragon Ride system-on-chips and will make its first formal appearance at IAA Mobility 2025.

Snapdragon Ride Pilot is a Level 2+ driver-assistance system, not self-driving, which means drivers will still be responsible for supervising the vehicle’s movements and paying attention to the road while these features are in use.

The software stack is structured into a series of layers that come together to power the autonomous features. The first is 360-degree perception, which uses a camera-based vision stack to detect objects, interpret traffic signs and provide parking assistance among other functions. An advanced context-aware driving layer uses a combination of rules-based and AI-based models to plan and predict behavior during complex driving scenarios.

The stack also uses what Qualcomm is calling a safety-first approach, which includes cybersecurity features and enforces strict global car safety rules like and Functional Safety standards.

Snapdragon Ride Pilot is now being offered by Qualcomm to all global automakers, and the chipmaker says the system is already validated in 60 countries worldwide, with the aim of availability in more than 100 countries by 2026.

This new partnership is the latest high-tech product for cars from the semiconductor company. Last year they began on AI voice systems for vehicles. They have also on the automaker’s infotainment systems.

Qualcomm is not the only player betting on self-driving, with companies like and also developing chips and software to power advanced driver-assistance systems.