Mercedes partners with Google to offer supercomputer-like experience

German luxury and commercial vehicle brand, Mercedes Benz, has announced its software partnership with Google to offer "super-computer-like" navigation and other services in every car, Reuters reported. When "Level 3" autonomous driving becomes available, drivers will also be to watch YouTube videos while the car is in motion.

The German car maker is playing catch up to the software-powered features offered by Tesla and other carmakers as they provide performance, battery, and autonomous driving updates over the air. The company is looking to wow customers with amazing features such as controlling the car with their minds. While this is expected to take some time, Mercedes wants to deliver powerful computing in every vehicle.

Mercedes' plans for the future

Mercedes' partnership with Google follows the route that conventional carmakers such as Ford, Renault, Nissan, and General Motors have taken to add Google's suite of services to their cars. This partnership allows users to tap into Google's Maps, Assitant, and other services and use traffic information to determine the best routes to reach their destination.

Further, the company is revamping how the software side of its cars works. Moving away from attempts to integrate different software packages into the car, Mercedes will now own the operating system dubbed MB.OS and ask partners to build their services to work with the OS.

Following the experiences of the chip shortage during the pandemic, the company has also moved away from using multiple chips for different functions to a single powerful processor that can handle all the tasks. For this, Mercedes has teamed up with chipmaker Nvidia Corp and has a revenue share agreement to bring down upfront costs.

Mercedes is betting big that its customers will pay for additional services that can be unlocked using the chip, such as Level 3 autonomous driving, where the driver can take their eyes off the road as long as they can regain control of the car when needed. Watching YouTube videos on specific routes that permit Level 3 autonomous driving would be a legal thing in the future.

In addition to Google's services, Mercedes is teaming up with Zoom and TikTok. Expected to be available as part of the Superscreen with the 2024 E-Class, the car will have an additional screen on the passenger side and the central control touchscreen, The Verge said in its report.

Mercedes has already generated a billion dollars in revenue from its software-enabled services in 2022 and expects these revenues to increase further after its MB.OS is launched by mid-decade.