LAS VEGAS, Jan. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CES 2026 — The Eclipse Foundation, one of the world’s largest open source software foundations, and the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) today announced a significant expansion of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for an Automotive-Grade Open Source Software Ecosystem, transforming this group into one of the most advanced collaborations on next-generation vehicle design in the world.
Launched in June 2025 with 11 signatories, the MoU now includes 32 global companies, representing leaders across the entire automotive value chain. This reflects significant momentum and strong industry alignment around an open, interoperable, and certifiable software foundation for next-generation mobility, implemented within the Eclipse SDV Working Group.
“The growing participation in this collaboration reflects a clear global shift toward open innovation in the automotive industry,” said Mike Milinkovich, Executive Director of the Eclipse Foundation. “Industry leaders recognise that trusted, open source foundations are essential to delivering the next generation of safe, intelligent, and connected vehicles.”
Aligning the industry around shared principles
The expansion of this global collaboration strengthens a shared commitment to addressing common industry challenges through collaborative open source development. By working within an open source software ecosystem with vendor neutral governance, participating organisations reduce fragmentation, improve interoperability and share the burden of developing complex, safety critical software.
The collaboration is designed to achieve:
- Up to 40% reduction in development, integration, and maintenance efforts for non-differentiating software, freeing up engineering capacity for innovative development
- Up to 30% faster time to market through shared, automotive-grade components
- Improved interoperability across suppliers and vehicle platforms
- Greater sustainability and long-term software maintainability
“Through joint development of non-differentiating software, manufacturers and suppliers can focus their resources on what truly matters: delivering unique, customer-centric experiences,” said Dr. Marcus Bollig, VDA Managing Director.
A united, global ecosystem
With today’s news, this MoU group expands to become one of the world’s largest and most advanced open source ecosystems focused on code-first solutions for next-generation mobility. New signatories include an array of industry leaders and innovators, such as 42dot, Accenture, AVL, Capgemini, Coretura, Cummins, ECARX, Elektrobit, Infineon, LEAR, LG Electronics, Michelin, MOBIS, QNX, Qualcomm, Red Hat, Schaeffler, Stellantis, Traton, T-Systems, and Useblocks joining founding participants Aumovio, BMW, Bosch, ETAS, Hella, Mercedes-Benz, Qorix, Valeo, Vector, Volkswagen, and ZF.
Together, this group makes up a global ecosystem that spans every facet of the automotive value chain, including manufacturers, suppliers, software companies, semiconductor providers, and cloud specialists.
From shared vision to working software
At the centre of this collaboration is Eclipse S-CORE, an open source, automotive-grade software stack developed within the Eclipse SDV Working Group. S-CORE brings together multiple SDV projects into a common reference stack and tooling environment designed to support certifiable, production-ready automotive software.
In November 2025, Eclipse S-CORE delivered its first public release (version 0.5), marking a key milestone and demonstrating the practical results of coordinated open source development. A full release is planned for 2026, targeting vehicle programs expected to reach the market at the latest by 2030.
A sustainable, global model for automotive software
Eclipse SDV provides a sustainable, transparent, and scalable model for industry-wide software innovation. By building shared software foundations in the open, participants are creating a common base for innovation that reduces redundancy, enhances safety, and accelerates time to market.
Together, these organisations are establishing a new benchmark for responsible, certifiable, and globally coordinated software innovation that will shape the future of mobility.
About the VDA
The Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) represents the interests of the German automotive industry. Its members include manufacturers of passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trailers, and suppliers. The VDA promotes innovation, safety, and sustainability in mobility.
About Eclipse Software Defined Vehicle
Eclipse Software Defined Vehicle (SDV), a working group within the Eclipse Foundation, supports the open source development of cutting-edge automotive technologies that power the programmable vehicles of the future where software defines features, functionality, and operations. With over 50 members, including leading automotive manufacturers, global cloud providers, technology innovators, and key supply chain partners, the initiative has strong industry backing. The working group’s mission is to provide a collaborative forum for developing and promoting open source solutions tailored to the global automotive industry. Adopting a “code first” approach, Eclipse SDV focuses on building the industry’s first open source software stacks and associated tools that will support the core functionalities of next-generation vehicles.
About the Eclipse Foundation
The Eclipse Foundation provides our global community of individuals and organisations with a business-friendly environment for open source software collaboration and innovation. We host the Eclipse IDE, Adoptium, Software Defined Vehicle, Jakarta EE, Open VSX, and over 400 open source projects, including runtimes, tools, registries, specifications, and frameworks for cloud and edge applications, IoT, AI, automotive, systems engineering, open processor designs, and many others. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the Eclipse Foundation is an international non-profit association supported by over 300 members. To learn more, follow us on social media @EclipseFdn, LinkedIn, or visit eclipse.org.
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