Volkswagen’s independent automotive software company, CARIAD plans to acquire the Mobility Services Platform business unit. It is the business unit of the German software development company Hexad GmbH. With this acquisition, the company will gain new competencies in cloud services development.
The services are part of the digital ecosystem around the car that CARIAD is building for all Volkswagen Group brands. Closing for the transaction is expected in the summer of 2023 and remains subject to approval by the antitrust authorities. The Volkswagen Group has worked with Hexad for many years. The portfolio of services developed by Hexad includes initial vehicle registration by the customer and the log-in and control of vehicle functions in the brands’ smartphone apps.
It also includes a Predictive Maintenance service that analyzes AI-based vehicle data and advises customers to approach their workshop to prevent any vehicular damage well ahead of time. The acquisition is a significant step in CARIAD’s growth strategy, “We want to develop in-house central technologies that directly influence the automotive customer experience. This includes cloud services in the car. By acquiring Hexad’s Mobility Services Platform business unit, we are strengthening our competencies in this area.” The strategy was stated by CFO of CARIAD, Thomas Sedran.
Development
As a result of the acquisition, more than 75 software developers from Hexad GmbH will join the CARIAD team and support backend services for a digital ecosystem. They already work, as a close supplier, on more than ten backend services that are used throughout the Group. Hexad has been a longstanding partner in the development of Mobile Online Services. The company developed the relevant know-how in the Mobility Services Platform business unit over many years of project work and has formed a team that is familiar with CARIAD’s expectations and processes, and whose expertise is well-known to CARIAD through their close cooperation.
Established in 2020 under the name Car. Software Organization, CARIAD now has more than 6,500 experts worldwide working on a scalable technology stack for all Volkswagen Group brands, comprising a software platform, a unified architecture, and a reliable connection to the automotive cloud. The company is also developing digital functions for the vehicle, including driver assistance systems, a standardized infotainment platform, software functions for linking powertrains, chassis, and charging technology, as well as the new digital ecosystem and digital services in and around the vehicle. CARIAD has software competence centers in Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt, the Stuttgart region, Berlin, and Munich, and has subsidiaries in China and the US.
