Develop in the cloud, deploy in the car: Redefine SDVs with Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud and AAOS SDV

What you should know:

• Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud enables automakers to design, test and validate entirely in the cloud, empowering teams to develop and deploy automotive software faster and more efficiently than ever before.
• With environment parity between the cloud and the in-vehicle SoCs, the same validated software can be reused in the car enabling faster time-to-commercialization.
• Pre-integrated and optimized for Snapdragon, AAOS-SDV enables automakers to deploy a unified software stack across vehicle tiers and generations, deliver differentiated features quickly and monetize new services throughout the vehicle lifetime.

Wouldn't it be great if the experiences in the car continuously evolve, new features are deployed quickly and consumers can later customize their car features easily? While consumers enjoy this readily with smartphones and connected devices, it has not always been possible with their cars.

For automakers, with vehicle program timelines shrinking,¹ consumers expecting delightful new features and monetization throughout vehicle lifetime key,² faster time-to-commercialization has never been more important. Virtual platforms that enable cloud-based development without vehicle hardware are needed to accelerate time-to-commercialization.¹ However, automaker developers are facing challenges due to lack of parity, portability and compatibility between the cloud and the car.

To realize consumer expectations, address developer needs and enable fast continuous innovation, it needs a rethinking from the ground up on how cars are designed where software is not secondary but is at the center with everything defined around it and thereby enabling Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs).³

For addressing the industry and automaker needs, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Google partnered in October 2024 to develop foundational technologies for building SDVs which have software at the center. And finally at CES 2026, we introduced Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud and our new scaling collaboration with Google for AAOS SDV.

Introducing Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud

To meet the rapidly evolving demands of the automotive industry, automakers are seeking new ways to accelerate time-to-commercialization, continuously innovate and deliver features well beyond the initial vehicle production. In this SDV era, virtual platforms that enable development in the cloud without relying on vehicle hardware have become essential, however, challenges around vehicle parity and scalability remain.

This is precisely where Snapdragon vSoC (Virtual SoC) on Google Cloud comes in. By enabling automakers to design, test and validate entirely in the cloud, Snapdragon vSoC helps overcome these barriers, empowering teams to develop and deploy automotive software faster and more efficiently than ever before.

As Snapdragon Automotive IP assets (e.g., Infotainment, ADAS, Safety features) get integrated in the SoCs and are deployed in SDVs, Snapdragon vSoC virtual platform provides compatibility with the in-vehicle SoCs. Platform developers and application developers can quickly and iteratively develop instrument cluster, infotainment and ADAS software and user experiences with Snapdragon vSoC in the cloud and deploy them in the car.

Snapdragon vSoC utilizes the Axion 'C4A metal' instances on Google Cloud and provides parity with the in-vehicle SoCs promoting software reuse, compatibility and portability. Snapdragon vSoC complements Google Cloud's Horizon software factory for scalable automotive software development. With these capabilities, Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud offers a range of advantages for automakers and developers alike.

Key benefits of Snapdragon vSoC

• Develop ahead in the cloud: With developer friendly features and use cases targeted for Cockpit and ADAS, automakers can develop in the cloud without waiting for vehicle hardware.
• Reuse software in the cloud and car: With environment parity between the cloud and the in-vehicle SoCs, the same validated software can be reused in the car enabling faster time-to-commercialization.
• Production intent virtual platform: Snapdragon vSoC can be used pre-SOP and post-SOP enabling virtual development and validation in the cloud with parity for deployment in the car.
• Automaker-friendly deployment models: Developer friendly workflows, scalable CI/CD integrations and deployment models to suit automaker scaling needs available on Google Cloud.
• Developer ecosystem scalability: Electronic Design Automation (EDA) partner integrations enable Virtual ECUs (vECUs) and co-simulation use cases in the cloud, providing high-fidelity verification and validation use cases for automakers.

What does this mean for developers in real-world scenarios? With Snapdragon vSoC, teams can simply open a browser on a standard laptop, collaborate seamlessly across locations, and efficiently develop, test and validate automotive software at scale.

For developers, Snapdragon vSoC enables rapid prototyping through guest virtual machine reuse (e.g., instrument cluster, infotainment) and enables portability between the cloud and the car. These guest virtual machines support multiple automotive-grade operating systems including Linux, AAOS and AAOS-SDV allowing automakers to develop and deploy solutions across various vehicle tiers and generations.

Beyond development, robust verification and validation are critical for automotive software. Snapdragon vSoC streamlines these processes by enabling vECU integration and co-simulation configurations with EDA partners directly in the cloud.

With scalable deployment on Google Cloud, Snapdragon vSoC empowers platform developers, application developers, system integrators and automaker verification teams with cloud native solutions to efficiently develop, test and validate infotainment, cluster and ADAS use cases.

Additionally, for developers focused on AI, Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud - together with reference platforms - accelerate the development of AI-powered features, enabling safety-focused, intelligent and personalized experiences for drivers and passengers. Florian Haubner, Industry Architect Lead Automotive at Google Cloud, says, "The SDV era requires a transformation in automotive engineering, powered by virtual representations and agentic AI. By moving away from expensive, unscalable physical test benches to our Axion 'C4A metal' instances, we're helping engineers design and validate entirely in the cloud. Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud closes the feedback loop, driving efficiency and faster time-to-market for continuous innovation."

For automakers, Snapdragon vSoC on Google Cloud enables a comprehensive virtual development, testing and validation platform with parity, scalability and faster time-to-commercialization.

New collaboration to scale AAOS SDV for automakers

Building on our decade-long collaboration for AAOS for IVI, and the SDV collaboration, Qualcomm Technologies and Google are partnering to scale AAOS for SDVs (AAOS-SDV) platform to automakers and Tier-1s.

With this scaling collaboration, we deliver a turnkey, pre-integrated and optimized AAOS-SDV stack on Snapdragon Digital Chassis platforms that accelerates time-to-commercialization for automakers.

Utilizing the Snapdragon multi-domain and mixed-critical workload support, AAOS-SDV enables 'beyond infotainment' experiences by extending AAOS on the same Snapdragon SoC. Pre-integrated AAOS-SDV stack on Snapdragon Digital Chassis provides several benefits to automakers.

Key Benefits of AAOS-SDV on Snapdragon

• Beyond infotainment: Utilizing the Snapdragon multi-domain configurations for Cockpit, ADAS and Snapdragon Ride Flex, AAOS-SDV enables instrument clusters with safety and regulatory display elements.
• Software updatability: Using software abstraction provided by Snapdragon BSP and AAOS-SDV's service-oriented architecture integration, automakers can deliver new features with granular OTA updates.
• Faster time-to-commercialization: With Snapdragon vSoC integrating AAOS-SDV, automakers can develop, test and validate in the cloud without hardware. Faster time-to-commercialization with pre-integrated AAOS-SDV stack from Qualcomm Technologies.
• Reusability and reduced costs: Snapdragon provides software compatibility across SoC generations enabling software stack reuse, thereby reducing costs across vehicle generations for automakers.
• Data and AI insights: With GenAI and vehicle data access support on Snapdragon, AAOS-SDV pre-integrated stack enables new personalized services, vehicle and fleet insights for automakers.

Matt Crowley, Group Product Manager for Google Android Automotive, says, "As our lead partner for scaling AAOS SDV, Qualcomm is instrumental in making this vision a reality. Whether it's a more intuitive voice assistant or context-aware navigation, it all starts with the confidence of 'bit-for-bit' parity between Google Cloud and Qualcomm's vSoC and automotive grade Snapdragon silicon. This collaboration lets manufacturers stop building the lower-level software bits and start building the AI-powered services that move their business forward. This is the moment where the car stops a machine you operate and starts being an intelligent partner along the journey."

Pre-integrated and optimized for Snapdragon, AAOS-SDV enables automakers to deploy a unified software stack across vehicle tiers and generations, deliver differentiated features quickly and monetize new services throughout the vehicle lifetime elevating consumer experiences and building brand loyalty.

We envision a world where automakers enable context-aware in-cabin and beyond the cabin experiences that consumers desire, create lifetime customer relationships and build brand loyalty through continuous software innovation powered by AAOS SDV and Snapdragon vSoC.

We truly believe 'SOP is just v1.0' for vehicle software and automakers' innovation journey continues throughout the vehicle lifetime. We look forward to collaborating, co-creating and redefining SDVs of the future along with you. Develop in the cloud, deploy in the car and deliver continuous innovation beyond SOP.