Chipmaker Nvidia developing robotaxis, eyes testing by 2027, CEO Jensen Huang envisions billion cars on the road

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on 5 January announced the chipmaker's plans to develop technology for autonomous vehicles and robots, Bloomberg reported.

The chipmaker is reportedly eyeing testing for as early as 2027, as per a CNBC report.

Speaking at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, Jensen Huang unveiled a vehicle platform called Alpamayo that allows cars to “reason” in the real world, the BB report added. He added that potential users can take the free Alpamayo model offering and retrain it themselves.

The executive added that robotics (including autonomous vehicles) is the company’s second most important growth category after artificial intelligence (AI), CNBC said.

“We imagine that someday, a billion cars on the road will all be autonomous. You could either have it be a robotaxi that you’re orchestrating and renting from somebody, or you could own it,” he stated.

How does Nvidia's Alpamayo model work?

The company aims to create vehicles that can think their way out of unexpected situations, such as the traffic-light outage that impacted Waymo vehicles during the Los Angeles power outage last month, the Bloomberg report added.

It added that a computer onboard the vehicles will analyse inputs using cameras and other sensors, break them down into steps and produce solutions.

What is the envisioned rollout timeline?

• As per the report, Nvidia is working with automaker Mercedes-Benz to develop vehicles capable of hands-free driving on the highway that can also find their way through cities.
• The first of these Nvidia-powered vehicles are envisioned for rollout in the United States in the first quarter, according to Huang.
• This will be followed by release in Europe in the second quarter, and in Asia in the second half, he said.
• The CNBC report added that Nvidia is looking at point-to-point self-driving features in consumer cars by 2028.
• Notably, Nvidia also announced a robotaxi partnership with Uber in October 2025, it added.

What about Nvidia's robot technology?

The Bloomberg report said that Nvidia is looking to launch AI) models and other technology for robots. For this, Huang told the audience at the CES trade show, that the company is working with Siemens AG to bring AI to more of the physical world.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)