Beijing, China, April 28, 2026 — During Auto China 2026, ThunderSoft and Renesas Electronics announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen collaboration on next-generation intelligent cockpit and in-vehicle computing platforms. Leveraging their respective expertise in semiconductors, operating systems, and intelligent vehicle technologies, the two companies will jointly accelerate innovation in software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and establish a long-term strategic partnership.
The MoU was signed by representatives from both companies in the presence of senior executives, including Chang Hengsheng, Executive President of ThunderSoft and President of ThunderSoft Intelligent Vehicle Business Group, and Fang Liu, President of Renesas Electronics China.
Demonstration Scheme for R-Car X5H Multi-Domain Integration System
3D Rendering Function Demonstration
On-Device VLM Large Model Function Demonstration
Collision Warning Function Demonstration
Accelerating Innovation on the Renesas R-Car X5H Platform
Under the agreement, ThunderSoft and Renesas will collaborate closely around the Renesas R-Car X5H system-on-chip (SoC), combining the capabilities of ThunderSoft's AquaDrive AIOS and advanced interaction engine with Renesas' high-performance automotive computing platform.
The partnership will focus on a broad range of next-generation automotive technologies, including:
- Intelligent cockpit platforms
- Large language model (LLM) applications
- Edge AI inference
- Multimodal human-machine interaction
- Cross-domain integration architectures
- Vision perception solutions for high-performance automotive SoCs
Together, the companies aim to develop reference designs and production-ready solutions that help automotive manufacturers accelerate the deployment of intelligent vehicle technologies.
At Auto China 2026, ThunderSoft also showcased a multi-domain integration demonstration system jointly developed with Renesas based on the R-Car X5H platform.
R-Car X5H Multi-Domain Integration Solution
As the latest member of the fifth-generation Renesas R-Car family, the R-Car X5H is the industry's first automotive-grade multi-domain integration SoC built on a 3nm process node. The platform is designed to simultaneously support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), gateway communication, and other critical vehicle functions on a single chip.
The R-Car X5H delivers:
- Up to 1,400k DMIPS CPU performance
- Up to 400 TOPS AI computing capability
- Up to 4 TFLOPS GPU performance
The platform also incorporates hardware-level isolation through Renesas' Freedom from Interference (FFI) architecture, enabling secure separation of multiple functional domains. In addition, it supports ASIL D functional safety requirements for safety-critical automotive applications.
To further accelerate ecosystem development, Renesas provides the RoX (R-Car Open Access) development environment, enabling partners to rapidly deploy software stacks and AI algorithms.
AquaDrive AIOS: AI-Native Foundation for Intelligent Vehicles
AquaDrive AIOS is ThunderSoft's AI-native automotive operating system designed for global automotive markets. Built around an AI-centric architecture, the platform integrates edge-based foundation models, multimodal interaction technologies, and heterogeneous computing orchestration to support real-time AI applications and continuous software evolution inside the vehicle.
Through its unified software foundation and cross-domain architecture, AquaDrive AIOS enables efficient integration of cockpit, ADAS, connectivity, and vehicle services while optimizing system resources, reducing software complexity, and maintaining high standards of safety and reliability.
The result is a scalable, production-ready software platform that helps automakers accelerate the development of next-generation intelligent vehicles.
Enabling Consolidated Vehicle Architectures
Built on the R-Car X5H SoC, the joint multi-domain integration solution provides a complete hardware-software platform capable of consolidating intelligent cockpit, ADAS, and gateway functions onto a single computing architecture.
Key capabilities include:
- 8K × 2K ultra-high-definition HMI rendering
- 3D digital instrument clusters
- Multimedia and navigation systems
- Gaming applications
- Driver monitoring systems (DMS)
- ADAS perception and surround-view applications
- End-to-end in-cabin AI experiences
- Real-time camera-based LLM and vision-language model (VLM) applications
- Enhanced vehicle sentry and monitoring functions
By consolidating multiple vehicle domains into a unified platform, the solution helps automakers reduce system complexity, optimize computing resources, and accelerate time-to-market.
Driving the Future of Software-Defined Vehicles
The collaboration marks a new milestone in the partnership between ThunderSoft and Renesas in the areas of software-defined vehicles and multi-domain computing architectures.
Looking ahead, the two companies will continue expanding their collaboration in cross-domain integration, edge AI, intelligent cockpit technologies, and next-generation vehicle software platforms. Together, they aim to deliver competitive, production-ready solutions that accelerate the automotive industry's transition toward a more intelligent and AI-driven future.
About Renesas Electronics
Renesas Electronics is a global leader in microcontrollers, combining expertise in embedded processing, analog, power, and connectivity technologies to deliver comprehensive semiconductor solutions. Its products accelerate innovation across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT markets, enabling billions of connected intelligent devices worldwide. For more information, visit renesas.com.
