Volkswagen and Cerence Expand Strategic Partnership; Premier Automaker Selects Cerence to Power Conversational AI in its Next-Gen Infotainment System

New levels of speed and accuracy transform the driving experience for Volkswagen drivers, starting in the Golf 8 GTI

Cerence Inc., AI for a world in motion, today announced that Volkswagen has selected Cerence to power voice and conversational AI in its next-generation infotainment system, first available in the all-new Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI. This enhanced system features improved speed and higher accuracy, delivering natural, intuitive interaction to VW drivers.

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Activated with a simple, “Hey Volkswagen,” VW’s new interactive voice interface leverages Cerence Drive 2.0, which integrates the best of Cerence’s embedded and cloud natural language understanding and text to speech technologies in one unified software stack to deliver one of the fastest, most intelligent AI assistant platforms on the market today. In addition, VW will use Cerence speech signal enhancement, a suite of sound processing technologies that remove noise from microphone inputs, critical for the in-car environment. The system is constantly learning driver preferences based on previous commands and behaviors, making interaction with the assistant increasingly intuitive over time.

“Our next-gen infotainment system is critical as we redefine innovation and user experience,” said Dr. Axel Heinrich, Head of Electric- / Electronics Volkswagen Brand. “We’re delighted to continue our long-term partnership and collaboration with Cerence and utilize their new Cerence Drive 2.0 platform to bring incredibly fast and accurate conversational AI interaction to our drivers.”

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“Volkswagen has a long legacy of meaningful innovation that puts its drivers at the forefront,” said Stefan Ortmanns, CEO, Cerence. “The next-generation Volkswagen infotainment system is no exception, and we are proud to partner with VW as they unveil a new era of intuitive voice interaction that will enhance driver safety and productivity while on the road.”

The Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI now available in the US is the first VW model with the next-gen infotainment system. This update will be available across other models via over-the-air updates at the beginning of 2022.

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