General Motors Co. is expanding its partnership with technology company Nvidia Corp. to leverage artificial intelligence for designing future manufacturing plants and to improve self-driving systems.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced the collaboration on Tuesday at the company's annual GTC AI Conference in San Jose, California. GM says the partnership will help create safer, more efficient plants and reduce costs as new technologies like electrification, sensors and cameras make them more expensive. It's also looking to advance technology in personal self-driving vehicles as it turns from robotaxi development.

The companies will work together to build custom AI systems using Nvidia's computer platforms — like Nvidia Omniverse and Cosmos — to train AI manufacturing models for planning factories and robotics. Digital twins of assembly lines will allow for virtual testing and production simulations to reduce downtime.

The technology also will train robotics platforms in material handling as well as precision welding. These steps should help to improve safety and free up workers to prioritize quality, according to the companies. Some, however, fear robotics will take away jobs, while others argue the technology creates new roles.

“AI not only optimizes manufacturing processes and accelerates virtual testing but also helps us build smarter vehicles while empowering our workforce to focus on craftsmanship," GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. "By merging technology with human ingenuity, we unlock new levels of innovation in vehicle manufacturing and beyond.”

GM also will use Nvidia Drive AGX for vehicle hardware to improve advanced driver-assistance systems and safety. GM hopes this in-vehicle computer, which is able to process 1,000 trillion operations per second, will speed the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles at scale.

The automaker in December defunded its Cruise LLC robotaxi program after a year of trying to refocus and relaunch Cruise after an October 2023 pedestrian crash opened up the operation to scrutiny from public officials and consumers.

Now, executives say they're focused on advanced self-driving technology in personally owned vehicles. The company is forecasting its hands-free Super Cruise driving system will generate $2 billion in annual revenue in five years.

GM already has used Nvidia's graphic processing units — a chip that create digital images in tech devices — across its operations, including for training AI models in simulation and validation.

“The era of physical AI is here, and together with GM, we’re transforming transportation, from vehicles to the factories where they’re made,” Huang said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with GM to build AI systems tailored to their vision, craft and know-how.”

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