GM, Magna, Wipro launch software marketplace SDVerse

SDVerse, an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of automotive software backed by General Motors, supplier Magna International Inc. and tech services company Wipro, launched Sept. 30.

The platform, open to automakers, suppliers and relevant tech companies, is designed to connect developers of automotive software with potential customers.

Initial businesses to join the marketplace include Renault, Forvia, Valeo, Bosch, Cummins and NXP Semiconductors, in addition to the founding companies and others, according to a news release.

SDVerse's launch comes as automakers, suppliers and tech providers invest significant resources to pursue software-defined vehicles, long a dream for the industry. Automakers are spending as much as 30 percent of their R&D budgets on software, according to a December 2023 study by Roland Berger.

"SDVerse has been designed to support our industry's collective goal, where software-defined vehicles are the standard and not anymore an exception," said Joerg Grotendorst, Magna senior vice president of corporate R&D, at a launch event in Detroit.

The marketplace, announced in March, is designed to reduce high costs and long times to market. It will open up new revenue streams for software developers and help buyers find software without needing to develop it themselves, organizers said. It can reduce the time from product discovery to a request for a quote by as much as 80 percent, according to SDVerse.

"It will eliminate the need to constantly redesign and qualify software by providing access to proven solutions," Grotendorst said.

Creating such a marketplace is "essential" for the industry and will help to speed up the rollout of software-defined vehicles, said Kristin Toth, GM executive director of electrical systems and software.

"This transformation does not have to be overwhelming," she said.

Magna ranks No. 3 on Automotive News' list of the world's largest suppliers, with global sales to automakers of $42.8 billion in 2023.