MOTORTREND ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF THIRD ANNUAL SOFTWARE-DEFINED VEHICLE INNOVATOR AWARDS

PRNewswire 8-Jan-2025 9:00 AM

-Unveiled at CES, the Awards Celebrate Visionaries Driving the Future of Mobility Through Software Innovation in the Automotive Industry-

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MotorTrend Group, a Warner Bros. Discovery company, has announced the winners of the third annual SDV (Software-Defined Vehicle) Innovator Awards, which were presented at the SDV Innovator Awards Gala at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, and presented in partnership with QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB, TSX:BB), whose technology is used by countless automakers around the world.

The SDV Innovator Awards program was established to honor the next phase of automobile technology, with the goal of elevating and highlighting those who are leading the automotive industry's foundational shift from hardware to software. MotorTrend introduced the awards to recognize innovators who are redefining how vehicles are designed, manufactured, operated, and experienced.

Winners were awarded in the Pioneer, Leader, and Expert categories, as chosen by a panel of jurors from MotorTrend's editorial team. This year's winners were selected from the largest nomination pool in the award's history. The finalists, innovators from 23 automakers and suppliers, were announced in November.

"Software-defined vehicles have fundamentally upended the automotive industry, from the way the cars are designed, built, driven, and experienced," said Ed Loh, head of editorial at MotorTrend Group. "It is an honor to unveil the distinguished winners of the third annual Software-Defined Vehicle Innovator Awards, who exemplify innovation and progress in this rapidly evolving field. We are proud to celebrate this year's exceptional Pioneers, Leaders, and Experts, whose groundbreaking efforts are at the forefront of software-defined vehicle transformation."

Pioneer Award Winners
These outstanding individuals have demonstrably broken new ground within the SDV space through research, development, and application of new automotive software.

• Milena Boytchef, Tech Strategist, Auto & Manufacturing Generative AI, Amazon Web Services, for advancing how autonomous systems are created with cloud training platforms, generative AI-enabled tools for synthetic data creation, and scene search. Earlier in her career, Ms. Boytchef also developed the industry's first cybersecurity solution for autonomous trucks and created the "mission control" concept to manage fleets of AVs.
• Andrej Karpathy, Founder and CEO, Eureka Labs, for his early work at Open AI on deep learning and reinforcement learning and leading the development of the AI and computer vision system that are central to Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
• Dr. Stefan Poledna, CTO and Co-Founder, TTTech Auto, for his pioneering work developing Audi's zFAS driver-assistance domain controller and the MotionWise safety software platform that decouples hardware and software, allowing for more flexible and scalable vehicle architectures.
• Joe Xia, CEO, JIDU Auto for adopting a vision-only version of Baidu's Apollo autonomous driving platform and integrating all sensors, cameras, and functional components into JIDU's SIMO AI assistant.
• He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO, XPENG Motors for integrating a highly centralized electronic architecture, implementing a large AI model for both digital cockpit and autonomous technologies, and for bringing advanced driver assistance features to more accessible price points. Mr. Xiaopeng also entered a strategic collaboration with Volkswagen for joint platform and software development and continues to advance the eVTOL flying car concept.

Leader Award Winners
These outstanding individuals hold a senior management position and lead a team that is transforming the automotive industry through the broad adoption and application of software solutions.

• Anders Bell, Chief Engineering & Technology Officer, Volvo Cars, for leading the development of core computing technology underpinning the EX90, Volvo's first vehicle to be truly software-defined from inception to production.
• Michael Goertz, VP, Vehicle Controls, Rivian, for leading the team responsible for developing more than 95 percent of the code underpinning the new zonal architecture that defines the Gen 2 R1 products at Rivian.
• Matt Jones, Executive Director of Technology Platforms, Ford Motor Company, for his work spanning the planning to delivery of digital software inside Ford, and for his industry liaison work and leadership with COVESA and the SDV Alliance.
• Jeffrey Shay, President, North America, Valeo, for his work spearheading software-defined vehicle technology both within his own company and by helping launch and lead the B2B software-services marketplace SDVerse.
• Qiyan Wang, VP of Digital Systems, NIO, for spearheading development of the next-gen digital architecture SkyOS that underpins NIO's software-defined vehicles and for his industry liaison work on the board of the open-source seL4 Foundation.
• Seok-Hyun Eun, President, LG Electronics VS, for his work developing LG's AlphaWare suite of software solutions and its Automotive Content Platform designed to deliver immersive in-cabin experiences.
• Alex Purdy, Global Head of Digital Product, Ford Integrated Services, Ford Motor Company, for his leadership in Digital Product development at Ford working on projects like BlueCruise, the FordPass app, and other means of optimizing retail and commercial customer experiences.
• Li Zhuang, Founder and CEO, Megatronix (Beijing) Technology Co., LTD, for founding Megatronix to support the global automotive industry's need for a "software-defined hardware framework" of domain controllers and big-data platforms.

Expert Award Winners
These outstanding individuals are subject matter experts within a specific SDV discipline (e.g., advanced driver assistance systems, digital cockpit, over-the-air updates), whose work has advanced the field.

• Tolla Cherwenka, Worldwide Tech Lead, Digital Customer Experience, Amazon Web Services, for transforming BMW's business with generative AI, cloud technologies, and a "data first" strategy.
• Wes Morrill, Cybertruck Lead Engineer and Senior Director of Engineering, Tesla, for bringing steer-by-wire, a 48-volt electronic architecture, and the bidirectional gigabit Etherloop controller network to production.
• Eddy Reyes, Senior Manager, Embedded Software In-Vehicle Experiences, Rivian, for his work on advanced 3D rendering for driver assistance visualization, digital instrument clusters, and infotainment, and for delighting customers with monthly over-the-air updates.
• Roberto Secchi, Head of Software Platforms and DevOps, Marelli, for leading the development of an advanced Digital Twin solution that replicates the features of a digital cockpit and allows developers to modify and deploy new applications in just seven minutes.

For more information on the awards and how QNX provides the high-performance foundational software for the vehicles of today and the future, please visit: blackberry.qnx.com/sdvawards

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About MotorTrend Group
MotorTrend Group, a Warner Bros. Discovery company, is the world's largest automotive media group dedicated to introducing, inspiring, and intensifying people's passions for the motoring world. Comprising more than 50 iconic brands including MOTORTREND, HOT ROD, ROADKILL and more, MotorTrend Group is the ultimate source of entertainment and information for both auto enthusiasts and car shoppers, with a monthly audience over 30 million in addition to over 70 million social followers. Featuring world-class automotive entertainment across the No. 1 television network for automotive fans, digital streaming channels, iconic events, the largest automotive social network, category-leading podcasts, over seven decades of print and digital editorial content, and cutting-edge resources for new car shoppers, MotorTrend embodies every corner of car culture. From electric vehicles to timeless classic customs, MotorTrend Group brings the latest motoring trends to fans of all generations.

About Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world's most differentiated and complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Film Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.

About BlackBerry
BlackBerry (NYSE:BB, TSX:BB) provides enterprises and governments the intelligent software and services that power the world around us. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company's high-performance foundational software enables major automakers and industrial giants alike to unlock transformative applications, drive new revenue streams and launch innovative business models, all without sacrificing safety, security, and reliability. With a deep heritage in Secure Communications, BlackBerry delivers operational resiliency with a comprehensive, highly secure, and extensively certified portfolio for mobile fortification, mission-critical communications, and critical events management. The company is also a pioneer in leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to deliver advanced cybersecurity solutions to its customers.

About QNX
QNX, a division of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB, TSX:BB), enhances the human experience and amplifies technology-driven industries, providing a trusted foundation for software-defined businesses to thrive. The business leads the way in delivering safe and secure operating systems, hypervisors, middleware, solutions, and development tools, along with support and services delivered by trusted embedded software experts. QNX® technology has been deployed in the world's most critical embedded systems, including more than 255 million vehicles on the road today. QNX® software is trusted across industries including automotive, medical devices, industrial controls, robotics, commercial vehicles, rail, and aerospace and defense. Founded in 1980, QNX is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Learn more at qnx.com.

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MotorTrend Group Press Contacts:
Gabrielle Flamand, CIVIC on behalf of MotorTrend Group, gabrielle.flamand@civic-us.com
Chloe Lauter, CIVIC on behalf of MotorTrend Group, chloe.lauter@civic-us.com

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