SDVerse online automotive software store is ready for a quick start

The speed of change in the auto industry just 30 days after SDVerse launched the first online marketplace for automotive software that is quickly gaining subscribers and content.

About 300 people watched the livestream of the Sept. 30 presentation, and the total has since grown to at least 1,200, according to Jeff Walker, SDVerse’s chief commercial officer, who noted, “We’ve seen significant customer engagement.”

What does it mean?

“I’m monitoring the initial engagement with customers, follow-up discussions about what it takes to get on the platform,” Walker said during an interview on the sidelines of the Reuters Automotive USA conference last week in Detroit. “We currently employ 80 people, and since the launch of the event, I have collaborated with 80 companies. They gradually develop into commercial discussions and gradually develop into membership.”

SDVerse has a total of 14 subscribers, which Walker says exceeds the platform’s original business plan.

The number of programmatic content available on the platform has also grown rapidly from 163 to 202 “and continuing to grow,” Walker said.

SDVerse was created and is financially supported through a partnership between the founding companies. General Motors Company. and suppliers Magna International And WiProwhich aims to connect automotive companies and suppliers with software providers.

According to SDVerse CEO Prashant Gulati, it was GM that first came up with the idea of ​​creating a digital software market.

“I think they appreciated a variety of approaches to solving the problem of improvement and different processes in the software supply chain,” Gulati explained in an interview with the publication earlier history about the creation of SDVerse. “They ultimately settled on this market concept.”

Revenue comes solely from membership, and SDVerse does not charge any transaction fees or commissions.

Walker notes that the roles each company plays are fluid: automakers and suppliers can act as both buyers and sellers of software.

“We have three people who you would classically think of as buyers. We have Renault, we have Cummins and we have GM, but everyone in the ecosystem also said, hey, I like what PopcornSAR, software provider from Korea, I like what they have to offer. I might partner with them so they can become customers,” Walker explained.

This dynamic means that sometimes an industry’s “frenemies” can end up working together, Walker said.

GM plans to start as a buyer but will be “active and committed” to its success as the automaker plays an important role in advancing standardization, said Christine Toth, GM’s global lead for electrical software and communications procurement, during a presentation at last month. .

Indeed, promoting standardization through the SDVerse is a key motivation for participation, along with competition for software expertise, Toth explained, noting that “the demand for common code base is absolutely growing, and we need standards and common solutions as vehicles increasingly resemble consumer electronics. Competition for talent is undoubtedly intensifying, and we believe that creating a market for embedded systems software is essential.”

Although GM is the largest player on the platform and has a significant financial stake in it, Walker wanted to make it clear that he is focused on ensuring that every member is treated fairly and that GM is not privy to any discussions between members.

“The fact that this is just between them and GM has nothing to do with it,” Walker said.

The growing complexity of vehicles is also increasing interest in the ease of buying and selling software through SDVerse, noted Jörg Grotendorst, senior vice president of corporate research and development at founding member Magna.

He expects the number of lines of software code in each car to grow from “hundreds of millions” today to about one billion by 2030—at a very fast pace.

The result, he noted during the presentation, is consumer expectations for faster automotive development.

“They took their habits from the cell phone industry and transferred those expectations to cars,” Grotendorst said. “SDVerse solves these problems by providing a searchable platform and encouraging in-depth product descriptions.”

After just a month, Walker says the software generating the most interest falls into several key categories: infotainment systems, advanced driver assistance systems, mapping, propulsion, electric vehicle control architecture and how people interact with display screens.

In terms of growth, Walker sees further development of electric vehicle platforms and a shift to high-performance computing, which adds processing power to area computing, reducing weight, cost, wiring and complexity within high-performance computing architectures.

Even though SDVerse has only been around for 30 days, there are intentions to expand offerings to SDVerse at some point.

Software for medium-duty trucks, recreational vehicles and motorcycles is planned to expand, Walker said.

However, he is now concentrating on building a list of SDVerse subscribers, especially among automakers, and is making progress, saying: “I don’t want to name names, but I will tell you that there are more than six that I am in active discussions with. right now these are very familiar names that are among the top 10 OEMs in the business.”