Cariad
An electric car from VW with the imprint of the Cariad division during the International Motor Show (IAA Mobility).
(Photo: dpa)
Volkswagen’s software division Cariad wants to expand its business with another purchase of voice control systems. A mid-double-digit million amount is to flow into the takeover of the company Paragon Semvox, which specializes in artificial intelligence (AI), both companies announced on Thursday.
So far, Paragon’s software subsidiary has been an external supplier to VW. The jobs remain. “With the takeover, Cariad is strengthening its development skills in this important area,” it said.
In addition to being controlled by speech, the systems should later also be able to react to facial expressions and eye movements. It’s about “entering into a dialogue and anticipating wishes” – such as setting navigation routes, dialing into digital meetings while on the go or controlling entertainment and game apps.
Cariad already with several acquisitions
If the competition authorities agree, the step should be implemented in the spring – a contract has already been signed. Paragon Semvox previously belonged to the automotive electronics supplier Paragon. Digital voice assistants are doing more and more tasks in networked vehicles. According to Cariad manager Lynn Longo, the plans are about building a central interface between different group brands.
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Cariad has already made several takeovers and also wants to recruit internal specialists. In October, the Ingolstadt-based company announced that it would invest 2.4 billion euros in a joint venture with the Chinese AI company Horizon Robotics.
The topic here is the joint design of software and special microchips for highly automated and ultimately autonomous driving. Expensive delays had occurred in the development of its own software and electronic platforms.
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