Tallinn-based European ride-hailing player Bolt is teaming up with Nvidia ‘to build the AI foundation for scaling autonomous vehicles in Europe’.
Bolt says the new collaboration will combine its own extensive ride-hailing and carsharing fleet data with Nvidia Omniverse libraries, Nvidia Cosmos world foundation models, Nvidia Alpamayo AV foundation models, and Nvidia AI infrastructure “to accelerate safe AV development for European roads”. The new AV platform will be deployed on the Nvidia Drive Hyperion computer and sensor architecture.
The news could mark a major boost to Europe’s autonomous vehicle and robotaxi ambitions. Today Bolt operates in more than 50 countries and 850 cities, and claims 200m customers.
“Real-world data is the most valuable asset in the race for safe autonomy,” said Jevgeni Kabanov, president and head of Autonomous Driving at Bolt. “By marrying Bolt’s operational scale with the Nvidia Hyperion Platform, Alpamayo foundation models, AI infrastructure, and open models and libraries, we are creating a European-led AV offering that ensures our continent remains at the forefront of mobility innovation while maintaining full control over our data and technology.”
“Autonomous vehicles require a full-stack approach that unifies AI models, high-performance compute, and a robust sensor architecture,” said Philippe Van Den Berge, EMEA vice president of Automotive at Nvidia, who said the new initiative would enable a scalable foundation for safe, high-performance autonomous mobility services designed for the “complexity and diversity” of European roads.
According to Bolt, the new collaboration will establishe a lifecycle for AI development – from data provision to common base models – enabling new mobility applications that will be safe, auditable, and “uniquely European”, and says any processing of Bolt’s fleet data will ensure “strict compliance” with GDPR and EU cybersecurity standards.
“Globally, US firm Uber receives a lot of attention for its moves to engage with players across the autonomous mobility ecosystem,” said Forrester’s VP principal analyst Paul Miller. “But Bolt is also a strong player in the European market and, like Uber, the company has been working to build partnerships in anticipation of a future where at least some of its ride hailing vehicles have no driver.”
Miller cites Bolt’s existing partnership with Pony.ai, signed in 2025 which could see the Chinese provider’s autonomous robotaxis tested on European roads in late 2026.
“It makes sense for Bolt to explore where and how [Nvidia’s] stack might support Bolt and Bolt’s partners,” said Miller. “It also makes sense for Nvidia to spread its bets, helping slot its hardware and software into as many autonomous mobility projects as possible.”
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