Nvidia suspends self-driving tests to 'learn' from Uber incident

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Nvidia Corp. said on Tuesday it will suspend self-driving tests across the globe after Uber Technologies Inc.'s fatality last week.

The chipmaker is testing self-driving technology globally including in New Jersey, Santa Clara, Japan and Germany.

Last week, Uber suspended North American tests of its self-driving vehicles after one of its self-driving cars killed a woman in Arizona.

Nvidia's statement said: "Ultimately AVs will be far safer than human drivers, so this important work needs to continue. We are temporarily suspending the testing of our self-driving cars on public roads to learn from the Uber incident. Our global fleet of manually driven data collection vehicles continue to operate."

Nvidia leads the autonomous industry with its artificial intelligence platform and has partnered with major global automakers such as Volkswagen AG, Tesla Inc. and Audi AG. 

Around 320 companies involved in self-driving cars -- from software developers, automakers and their suppliers, sensor and mapping companies -- use the Nvidia Drive platform, according to the company's website.

"Nvidia has no choice but to take steps in the context of the fear, uncertainty and outrage likely to be stimulated by a robot car killing a human being," Roger Lanctot, an auto analyst at Strategy Analytics, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

"This is precisely the type of event that is capable of slaying a nascent industry in the crib," Lanctot wrote.

Uber suspended North American tests of its self-driving vehicles after the accident.

Automotive News contributed to this report.