ASPIRE, the program management arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), has officially announced the return of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL), set to take place on 15 November 2025, at Yas Marina Circuit. The second edition of the world-leading autonomous racing competition will feature an expanded global field, an upgraded racecar and a newly launched virtual racing series, with a total prize pool of USD 2.25 million.

The announcement was made during the Make it in the Emirates Forum, underscoring the UAE’s growing stature in advanced mobility and AI-driven innovation. It builds on the success of its debut in April 2024 – which attracted over 10,000 spectators and more than one million global livestream viewers.

A key highlight of the new season is the introduction of A2RL SIM-Sprint, a year-round virtual competition that will allow teams to refine their algorithms and test autonomous driving systems in simulated environments. This extension of the league offers a controlled, repeatable platform to accelerate AI development, particularly in dealing with ‘edge cases’ – rare scenarios that are difficult to replicate in real-world racing.

Stephane Timpano, CEO of ASPIRE, said, “By combining the physical thrill of racing with the precision of virtual testing, we’re enabling the world’s best minds to push the boundaries of AI. This year’s expanded league reflects Abu Dhabi’s commitment to challenge-driven innovation, where real-world impact is engineered at speed and scale.”

At the heart of the competition is the EAV-24, an upgraded autonomous racecar built on the Super Formula SF23 platform. Developed and autonomised entirely in the UAE, the vehicle showcases the country’s advancing capabilities in AI, robotics and high-performance engineering. The EAV-24 boasts enhanced sensors, improved computing systems and sophisticated control logic to handle the extreme demands of autonomous racing.

H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, Advisor to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs and Secretary General of ATRC, said, “With A2RL, we’re not just testing autonomous technology, we’re accelerating its evolution in the most demanding conditions possible. It’s a showcase of engineering excellence, but more importantly, a platform for the future of mobility. From high-speed racing to real-world applications, we are demonstrating what’s possible when nations invest in deep tech innovation and challenge the world to think faster, build smarter and compete responsibly.”

The 2025 league will feature elite university and research teams from 10 countries, including newcomers France and Japan. Returning participants from the USA, Germany, China, Singapore, Italy and the UAE round out a field representing the forefront of autonomous systems research.

In addition to showcasing cutting-edge engineering, A2RL aims to democratise innovation in mobility. The SIM-Sprint platform is expected to open to a broader community in the future, offering a structured pathway from entry-level simulation to real-world racing. Aspiring developers, fans, and independent teams will be able to join the journey through a tiered system – Sim Academy, Sim Pro, and A2RL qualification rounds.

Each team will race using the Dallara Super Formula SF23 chassis, considered the world’s fastest open-wheel race car after Formula One. Built with sustainable bio-composites and capable of speeds up to 300 kmph, the SF23 is equipped with advanced braking, drive-by-wire throttle and a custom-built autonomous software stack.

A2RL continues to position Abu Dhabi as a global leader in the future of mobility, where high-performance engineering and AI converge in a real-world testbed of unprecedented scale.

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Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions company, has further expanded its capabilities in the rapidly evolving Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV) space with the addition of three new engineering centres in Europe. This marks the firm’s long-term strategy to strengthen its end-to-end automotive software capabilities, chip-to-cloud technologies and services.

The company has set up two new Automotive Delivery Centers in Germany – located in Munich and Villingen-Schwenningen as well as an engineering centre in Romania.

The German facilities the company shared will support automakers in developing and deploying TCS’ software-driven services that cater to autonomous driving, infotainment, safety systems and connected vehicle technologies. On the other hand, the Romanian facility will focus on designing and building advanced automotive software platforms to support early-stage development and innovation.

The new facilities will enable close collaboration with OEMs in Europe and global automotive enterprises.

At present, the company has onboarded over 100 professionals in Europe who will work together with more than 2,000 SDV Engineers across TCS global locations. This diverse and global talent pool will enable the development of next generation automotive platforms for digital cockpits and infotainment, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and other critical SDV functions — supporting the full product lifecycle from concept and development to production and post-launch support.

Regu Ayyaswamy, Senior Vice-President & Global Head, Internet of Things (IoT) and Digital Engineering at TCS, said, “These new centres will position TCS at the forefront of automotive innovation, enabling us to deliver state-of-the-art solutions in autonomous driving and advanced cockpit systems. This expansion reaffirms our commitment to leading the transformation in the Software-Defined Vehicles space.”

Anupam Singhal, President and Business Group Head, Manufacturing, TCS, said, “The shift to software-defined vehicles marks a defining moment for the automotive industry. With the launch of these new centres, we are deepening our commitment to support OEMs in building the next generation of intelligent, connected, and sustainable vehicles. This expansion is a key milestone in our journey toward Future-Ready Mobility — where software, engineering and design, backed by AI, converge to deliver safer, more personalised and continuously enriching experiences for drivers and passengers.”

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Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has announced the winners of the 9th Cohort of its flagship Accelerator program.

The winners include six Indian startups: Frinks AI, mistEO, Adagrad, Com Olho, ProSolvr and Eligere and three German startups: Caire AI, Syn2Core and Talonic, under the newly introduced Global Startups category. This marked the first global cohort where a total of 19 startups from India and 7 from Germany participated to showcase their ideas/solutions across domains such as AI, cybersecurity, road safety, quality control, EV charging infra and battery swapping among others.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Startups bring fresh thinking and new ideas. Through the Maruti Suzuki Accelerator program, we have been working with them to co-create future-ready solutions that enhance customer experience and drive operational efficiency in the automobile manufacturing and mobility space. The participation of global startups, this cohort onwards, marks a new milestone in this journey. It further supports our efforts to contribute meaningfully to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Startup India’ initiatives of the Government. We welcome the winning startups to join us in our mission to offer ‘Joy of Mobility’ to as many people as possible.”

Launched in January 2019, Maruti Suzuki India in the last six years, has screened over 5,000 startups, engaged with 150 startups and onboarded 25 startups partners.

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Shanghai-headquartered Inceptio Technology, a developer of autonomous truck technologies, has joined the Autoware Foundation, a global open alliance for autonomous driving tech.

As part of the understanding, Inceptio will collaborate with members of Autoware Foundation to advance innovation and accelerate the deployment of safe, scalable autonomous truck technologies.

Inceptio's technology portfolio covers L4, L3 and L2+ autonomous driving capabilities. It will leverage its proprietary full-stack Inceptio Autonomous Driving System - which features long-range perception, high-precision tractor and tailer control, fuel-efficient driving algorithm, as well as HPC specifically designed for truck's operating condition. This it shared improves safety, fuel efficiency and operational cost. Using data-driven R&D platform continuously refines core modules in real time, enabling rapid deployment and optimisation of autonomous truck technologies across diverse use cases in trucking.

Launched in 2018, the Autoware Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting open-source collaboration that accelerates the development of autonomous driving technology globally. It counts the likes of Tomtom, Robosense, NXP, Huawei, Hitachi, Capegemini, Foxconn, AMD and Amazon Web Services amongst its members.

Inceptio, on its part, was amongst the first to have launched the industry's first series production autonomous trucks in late 2021. Till date, Inceptio Autonomous Driving System is claimed to have has achieved over 200 million kilometres of commercial operations.

Shinpei Kato, Founder and Fellow, Autoware Foundation said, "We are excited to welcome Inceptio Technology to the Autoware Foundation. Inceptio's proven track record in autonomous trucking and deep industry and production expertise will be invaluable as we work together to build the next generation of autonomous mobility solutions for the trucking industry."

Inceptio will actively participate in the Autoware Foundation initiatives by contributing technology and use cases, exploring new applications, and forging global partnerships.

Julian Ma, Founder & CEO, Inception Technology, added, "We look forward to collaborating with a global open-source community of innovators to accelerate the development of autonomous driving technologies and extend the community's reach deep into truck segment. Our extensive experience in series production and insight from world's largest commercial deployment of autonomous truck uniquely position us to contribute to the Autoware Foundation, driving safer and more efficient logistics worldwide."

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Tata Elxsi, a global leader in design and technology services has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Infineon Technologies, a leading semiconductor solutions company, to jointly develop application-ready electric vehicle solutions tailored to the Indian market.

The partners will collaborate on design and integration expertise to drive faster adoption of automotive-grade, cost-efficient and safety-compliant subsystems across key mobility segments. This collaboration, the partners stated, aligns with India’s rapid shift towards electrification, with EV sales growing by 25–30 percent year-on-year in 2024, including a 28 percent increase in electric two- and three-wheeler sales.

As part of the understanding, Tata Elxsi will bring its design, system integration and validation capabilities, while Infineon will provide early access to its latest semiconductor technologies – such as silicon carbide (SiC)-based components, microcontrollers and integrated circuits (ICs).

The partners will work closely to develop high-voltage inverters for traction and auxiliary systems, scalable battery management systems (BMS), bi-directional onboard chargers and high-voltage thermal management solutions for the Indian market targeting two-wheeler, three-wheeler, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicle segments. In future, they also look to support eVTOL, energy and off-highway sectors.

Nambi Ganesh, Head – Automotive, Tata Elxsi, said, “Currently, several of our EV solutions are already built on Infineon SoCs and components. This MoU further strengthens our partnership by giving us a clearer scope and tighter system-level alignment, enabling shorter turnaround times to address Indian market requirements. As EV adoption scales, our focus remains on delivering production-ready, automotive standards-compliant platforms and solutions.”

Kenneth Lim, Senior Vice-President – Automotive, Infineon Technologies Asia Pacific, said, “At Infineon, we are committed to driving innovation in the electric vehicle sector and empowering our partners to bring cutting-edge technologies to market. This partnership with Tata Elxsi is a significant step in our journey to support India’s ambitious electrification goals. By combining Tata Elxsi's design and integration expertise with our advanced semiconductor solutions, we are not only enhancing the development of ready-to-deploy EV systems but also ensuring that they meet the highest safety and performance standards. Together, we aim to accelerate the adoption of electric mobility across various segments, from two-wheelers to commercial vehicles, and contribute to a more sustainable future for India.”

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