Bolt picks NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack for its European robotaxi programme

Madrid first, Germany and France next

Bolt says the core technology is now in place and the company is preparing to bring its autonomous driving programme onto European roads. The first stage will take place in Madrid during 2027. Germany and France are named as key markets for future deployment.

The Madrid programme is expected to start with Lucid vehicles and will initially gather real-world driving data to support the development and validation of the technology. This is subject to regulatory approval. Jevgeni Kabanov, President and Head of Autonomous Driving at Bolt, said the Region of Madrid is "pioneering a structured framework for commercial autonomous mobility in coordination with national authorities." He added that Germany will also be a priority, as cities there have set out clear ambitions for autonomous mobility.

Kabanov also pointed to Bolt's first autonomous mobility launch in Luxembourg as the step before Madrid.

How the technology fits together

The programme pairs Lucid's software-defined vehicles with NVIDIA Hyperion and Alpamayo Stack. According to the announcement, Alpamayo Stack runs on Hyperion and combines reasoning AI with classical perception and planning. It is supported by NVIDIA Halos safety capabilities.

Halos is described as NVIDIA's safety system, bringing together safety-engineered computing, system software, AI guardrails and validation tools. It supports safety throughout development and operation, including monitoring system behaviour and evaluating driving performance through simulation and real-world testing. These capabilities are meant to help teams build evidence that the integrated vehicle and driving software perform as intended.

Bolt and NVIDIA will work together to adapt the driving software for European roads and integrate it into vehicles from multiple manufacturers, beginning with Lucid. Rishi Dhall, vice president of automotive at NVIDIA, said Hyperion standardizes the compute and sensor architecture across vehicle platforms, while Alpamayo Stack and Halos provide the driving intelligence and safety foundation.

Bolt's wider autonomous strategy

The programme is part of Bolt's plan to deploy 100,000 autonomous vehicles across Europe and the wider UNECE region by 2035. Bolt Autonomous Driving Solutions, the company's dedicated autonomous-driving unit, will lead development and commercialisation of the ride-hailing service in Europe. It will contribute fleet-management infrastructure, regulatory expertise and local market knowledge.

Bolt describes itself as a European shared mobility platform operating in over 50 countries and 850 cities, serving more than 200 million customers. More than 4.5 million drivers and couriers use the platform.

The NVIDIA and Lucid effort sits alongside Bolt's work with Pony.ai and Stellantis. The stated aim is to bring together multiple vehicle manufacturers and technology partners, so the service can expand beyond individual programmes across several manufacturers and markets.

Kay Stepper, President of Lucid Technologies and Chief Digital Officer at Lucid, said the collaboration and the launch of data collection next year "mark the first steps toward bringing scalable, software-defined autonomous mobility in Europe."

What it means for Europe's robotaxi plans

For now, the announcement describes a data-gathering phase in Madrid rather than a commercial service, and it depends on regulatory approval. The 25,000-vehicle figure is presented as a rollout the programme will lay foundations for, not a near-term deployment.

The choice of a common software and hardware foundation reflects Bolt's stated goal of scaling across several vehicle makers. If the approach works, riders in European cities could eventually see autonomous ride-hailing offered through the Bolt platform, though the source gives no dates beyond Madrid in 2027 and the 2035 target.