TIER IV Leads Autoware 2.0 Push With Arm, AWS and Red Hat

What Autoware 2.0 changes

TIER IV describes Autoware 2.0 as a significant evolution of open-source autonomous driving software. The aim is to let developers work with AI-based methods without abandoning rule-based systems that are already in use.

The company lists three key developments:

• A scalable and adaptive architecture that supports various configurations of AI-based and rule-based autonomous driving systems.
• A flexible indexing scheme for modular software integration.
• A ready-made Reference Design framework meant to ease commercial adoption across different vehicles, applications and operating environments.

TIER IV says it is a leading contributor to Autoware and wants to speed up the commercialization of Autoware-powered systems through its growing ecosystem of global technology partners.

Partnerships with Arm, AWS and Red Hat

TIER IV is building on existing collaborations with Arm, AWS and Red Hat to push commercial adoption of Autoware 2.0. Each partner covers a different layer of the stack:

• Arm: development of computing platforms for Autoware 2.0, as a representative use case of Arm Total Design for Physical AI.
• AWS: cloud-native development and operations environments for Autoware 2.0, building on TIER IV's existing use of AWS cloud technologies.
• Red Hat: system integration of Autoware 2.0 with AutoSD, the open-source upstream project for Red Hat In-Vehicle Operating System.

TIER IV says these complementary initiatives are meant to strengthen the technology ecosystem around Autoware 2.0 and widen opportunities for adoption across the automotive industry.

Statements from TIER IV and the Autoware Foundation

Shinpei Kato, founder and CEO of TIER IV, said: "Open-source software alone is not enough to transform the automotive industry." He added that an ecosystem is needed to connect AI, computing platforms, cloud infrastructure and automotive software into practical solutions. Kato called Autoware 2.0 an important step toward the democratization of autonomous driving in the era of AI-defined vehicles.

Muhammad Zain Khawaja, president of the Autoware Foundation, said Autoware 2.0 reflects the collective efforts of a global community working to make advanced autonomous driving technologies more accessible. He said TIER IV's continued commitment to open-source development and industry collaboration is essential to the growth of the ecosystem, and that the foundation hopes to enable more organizations to build autonomous driving solutions on an open foundation.

Presentation at ASSC US 2026

TIER IV will join Arm, AWS and Red Hat at Automotive Software Strategies US 2026 (ASSC US 2026), scheduled for November 3 to 4, 2026, in San Jose, California. Representatives from the four companies are expected to present their approaches to advancing automotive software technologies and open-source ecosystems.

Christian John, President of TIER IV North America, will present the company's vision for accelerating the commercial adoption of Autoware 2.0 through open-source collaboration and global technology partnerships.

What it means for the industry

The announcement signals that the Autoware community is positioning its open-source stack for AI-based driving while keeping rule-based approaches supported. For automakers and developers, the Reference Design framework and the partner work on computing, cloud and in-vehicle operating systems are intended to reduce the effort of moving from development to commercial deployment. The source does not give a release date, pricing or performance figures for Autoware 2.0, so the practical impact will depend on how these initiatives are delivered.