- Existing development cooperation between KPIT and ZF to be transferred to QORIX subject to regulatory approvals
- QORIX will focus on the development of a world-class automotive middleware stack
- QORIX may invite additional technology companies to make it an independent full-solution product company
Pune (India) / Friedrichshafen (Germany). KPIT Technologies, a leading independent software development and integration partner to the automotive and mobility industry, and ZF Group, a global technology company supplying systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and industrial technology, agreed to promote an independent company named QORIX to develop and distribute open and scalable middleware products and solutions for the mobility ecosystem.
QORIX is currently a subsidiary of KPIT, fully focused on middleware solution development. ZF shall invest 50% towards equity in QORIX subject to regulatory approvals. It will build on the expertise and relevant IPs of KPIT and ZF to develop open and scalable automotive middleware platforms and solutions for the mobility ecosystem. Hence, both partners will bring cash and assets/IP towards their contribution. This builds on sustained investment by KPIT and ZF in this area. Active engagement has already started with select OEM clients and other Tier 1 suppliers and technology companies.
This independent company will address the significant gap in the availability of a mature, modular, integrated middleware solution that allows mobility OEMs to manage the ever-increasing software complexity while retaining complete control of the architecture. The lack of such a solution can delay the start of vehicle production and drive-up technology spending.
“At this juncture, we feel the mobility industry needs an independent middleware solution, and there is a significant value in that,” said Kishor Patil, CEO of KPIT Technologies. “We are very excited to establish QORIX, which will benefit the industry at large. The middleware solution development from QORIX will draw upon KPIT’s experience in several production programs, expertise in architecture consulting and software integration, and its strengths in cloud-based connected services.”
“The combined portfolio of standardized vehicle base software from KPIT and ZF will be one of the world’s leading offerings for the automotive industry,” said Dr. Dirk Walliser, SVP Research and Development at ZF Group. “QORIX will be open to other technology companies and will be able to offer the non-competitive differentiating parts of the vehicle software independently of shareholders and with high economies of scale. ZF will thus focus its own offering more on differentiating software functions and develop integrated solutions from hardware and software vehicle systems for vehicle manufacturers.”
