What The Autoware Foundation does

The Autoware Foundation is a Japan-incorporated non-profit organization, established on December 11, 2018 by TIER IV, Apex.AI, and Linaro/96Boards, that hosts and stewards the Autoware Project — the world's leading open-source autonomous driving software. The project originated in 2015 when Shinpei Kato began the codebase at Nagoya University; the Foundation formalizes governance via a Board of Directors, a Technical Steering Committee (TSC), a Strategic Planning Committee (SPC), and an Execution Leadership Team. Core products include the Autoware core platform (built on ROS/ROS 2 middleware covering sensing, localization, perception, planning, and control), Autoware.Auto (production-ready, certifiable ROS 2 stack targeting ISO 26262 compliance), Autoware.IO (heterogeneous platform and vehicle-interface support), and Open AD Kit (the first SOAFEE blueprint for software-defined vehicles). Supporting modules include the Vision Pilot L2 ADAS stack, Lite Models (embedded-optimized perception achieving 20–28x compute reduction on Jetson Orin Nano at INT8), AWSIM digital-twin simulation, the AI Model Collection (SceneSeg, EgoLanes, BEVDet, BEVFormer), Quanty model-optimization tooling, Agnocast zero-copy IPC, and the AutoSpeed camera-only neural network framework. The Foundation is governed by tiers of paid membership — Premium at $50,000/year, Industry & Government at $10,000/year, and Non-Profit at $2,000/year (or equivalent FTE/in-kind contributions) — and counts over 100 member organizations as of August 2025 spanning OEMs (e.g., NEVS, MIH Consortium), Tier-1 technology providers (TIER IV, ADASTEC, Astemo, ADASTEC), compute/cloud platforms (Arm, AWS, Red Hat, AMD, Siemens), shuttle and RoboVan specialists (Auve Tech, PIX Moving, Neolix), academic Centers of Excellence (80+ universities), and government programs (U.S. DOT FHWA CARMA, Chikusei City, TalTech iseAuto), with deployed users in 20+ countries and 30+ vehicle types. Distribution is dual-track: the core software is freely available on GitHub without membership, while membership provides voting rights on TSC/SPC, strategic-direction influence, and promotional benefits through foundation channels.

Name

The Autoware Foundation

Legal name

The Autoware Foundation

Website

https://autoware.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Autoware Foundation is a Japan-based non-profit that hosts and governs the world's leading open-source autonomous driving software (Autoware / Autoware.Auto / Open AD Kit) on ROS/ROS 2, serving 100+ member organizations across OEMs, Tier-1s, compute/cloud vendors, governments, and academia worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nagoya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Premium Membership: Annual membership providing voting seats on Technical Steering Committee and Strategic Planning Committee, strategic direction influence, and promotional benefits. Priced at $50,000/year or $10,000 + 1.0 FTE with concrete contribution proposal.
2. Industry & Government Membership: Annual membership for influencing strategic direction and technical priorities, with technical proposal capabilities. Priced at $10,000/year or 0.25 FTE with contribution proposal.
3. Non-Profit Organization Membership: Annual membership enabling cross-organizational collaboration with research teams and project activity proposals. Priced at $2,000/year or equivalent in-kind contributions such as datasets or licenses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

The Autoware Foundation hosts the Autoware Project, the world's leading open-source software platform for autonomous driving built on Robot Operating System (ROS/ROS 2) middleware. The foundation distributes Autoware freely on GitHub and offers tiered membership (Premium, Industry & Government, Non-Profit) to organizations seeking to influence strategic direction, access voting rights on technical committees, and gain promotional benefits. Its portfolio includes Autoware.Core/Universe, Autoware.Auto (certifiable ROS 2 stack), Autoware.IO (hardware support), Open AD Kit (SOAFEE blueprint), and Vision Pilot (L2 ADAS stack).

Product overview

The Autoware Foundation hosts the Autoware Project: the world's leading open-source software platform for autonomous driving, built on ROS/ROS 2 middleware. The core platform includes Autoware (for research and development), Autoware.Auto (certifiable ROS 2 production stack), Autoware.IO (hardware/platform support), and Open AD Kit (SOAFEE-based software-defined vehicle reference architecture). Supporting products include Vision Pilot (L2 ADAS stack with Lite Models for embedded-optimized perception), AWSIM (digital twin simulation), SODA.Sim (camera-based evaluation), AI Model Collection (SceneSeg, EgoLanes, BEV models), Quanty (model optimization), AutoSpeed (camera-only neural networks), and Agnocast (zero-copy IPC). Programs include Autoware Centers of Excellence (80+ university partners), Autoware Challenge (annual development competition), AutowareCon (flagship conference), and the Autoware I/O Portal (ecosystem vendor directory). All core software is freely available on GitHub without membership requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Autoware (Core Platform) The world's leading open-source software project for autonomous driving, built on ROS/ROS 2 middleware, providing all core capabilities for autonomous driving including sensing, localization, perception, planning, and control. Available freely on GitHub without membership requirement for developers, automotive OEMs, researchers, and autonomous driving companies.
• Autoware.Auto Production-ready, certifiable ROS 2-based rewrite of Autoware for commercial autonomous driving deployments, designed for safety-critical automotive applications. Targeted at automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers requiring ISO 26262-oriented software stacks.
• Autoware.IO Open-source project focused on heterogeneous platform support based on 96Boards products, vehicle control interfaces, and third-party software/hardware tools including simulators, sensor drivers, and by-wire controllers for SoC boards. Used by automotive developers and integrators.
• Open AD Kit The first SOAFEE (Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge) blueprint for open collaboration in autonomous driving. A reference architecture for software-defined vehicles enabling mixed-critical orchestration for safety-critical automotive systems, targeted at automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers building software-defined vehicle platforms.
• Vision Pilot Free self-driving car stack providing production-ready and safety-certifiable open-source SAE L2 ADAS functionality for automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, featuring scene perception models including the Lite Models family for embedded-optimized AI inference.

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered premium and core.

• NATIXpremiumStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 April 2026NATIX, one of the largest players in the Internet of Cameras, joined as Premium Member bringing a global crowd-sourced network of over 270,000 drivers and 250+ million kilometers of roads covered to support data-driven development workflows.
• Neolix TechnologiespremiumStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2026Neolix Technologies, Beijing-based global leader in RoboVan autonomous delivery vehicles with over 15,000 autonomous delivery vehicles deployed globally, joined as Premium Member to provide fully commercialized autonomous driving solutions to the ecosystem. Achieved first commercial deployment of L4 map-free autonomous driving technology in 2025.
• ArmcoreTechnology or Integration · 6 January 2026Arm collaborates with the Autoware Foundation through the Open AD Kit and SOAFEE initiatives to develop software-defined vehicle platforms and achieve software portability for the autonomous driving stack.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or Integration · 6 January 2026AWS joined the Autoware Foundation and collaborates on advancing open-source autonomous driving development, providing cloud infrastructure support for simulation and development workflows.
• Red HatcoreTechnology or Integration · 6 January 2026Red Hat joined the Autoware Foundation as a member to collaborate on open-source autonomous driving software portability and enterprise-grade support.
• SODA.AutopremiumStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025SODA.Auto joined as SDV innovator with expertise in SDV architecture and reference implementation, contributing to the Open AD Kit and simulation integration.
• Auve TechpremiumStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 August 2025Auve Tech, pioneer in autonomous shuttle solutions with real-world deployments across three continents, joined to deliver smart autonomous mobility solutions.
• AdvantechpremiumStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2025Advantech, global leader in industrial computing founded in 1983 and headquartered in Taiwan, joined as Premium Member to contribute embedded computing solutions for autonomous vehicles.
• Inceptio TechnologypremiumStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2025Inceptio Technology, industry-leading developer of autonomous driving technologies for heavy-duty trucks, joined to contribute full-stack autonomous driving solutions.
• ASAMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 May 2025ASAM and the Autoware Foundation partnered to advance autonomous driving through implementation-level standards for development and validation of next-generation mobility technologies.
• UXL FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 July 2024The Autoware Foundation and UXL Foundation collaborated on achieving software portability for the open-source autonomous driving stack using oneAPI for heterogeneous computing.
• TIER IV, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2018TIER IV is the creator of Autoware and co-founder of the Autoware Foundation alongside Apex.AI and Linaro/96Boards. TIER IV collaborates with the foundation to pioneer advancements in autonomous driving technology and maintain the Autoware ecosystem.
• Apex.AI, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2018Apex.AI co-founded the Autoware Foundation alongside TIER IV and Linaro/96Boards in December 2018 to collaboratively develop open-source autonomous driving projects including Autoware.AI, Autoware.Auto, and Autoware.IO.
• Linaro/96BoardscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2018Linaro/96Boards co-founded the Autoware Foundation to collaborate on heterogeneous platform support based on 96Boards products, vehicle control interfaces, and third-party software/hardware tools.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Apex.AI: Co-founder of the Autoware Foundation and developer of Apex.OS, a safety-certified ROS 2-based middleware for autonomous vehicles. Direct comparable as both build safety-critical open-source autonomous driving software on ROS 2.
• Baidu Apollo: Open-source autonomous driving platform from Baidu with similar full-stack capability (perception, planning, control) and global developer community. Direct comparable as the other major open-source AV software initiative competing for OEM and developer mindshare.
• TIER IV: Co-founder of the Autoware Foundation and creator of the original Autoware project. Develops commercial Autoware-based L4 autonomous driving solutions including robotaxis and shuttles, making it a direct peer that both contributes to and competes with the foundation ecosystem.

Others

• Eclipse Foundation: Open-source foundation hosting automotive and IoT projects under working group governance models similar to Autoware Foundation's Technical Steering Committee structure. Comparable as a peer foundation competing for member sponsorship and ecosystem participation.
• Linux Foundation: Umbrella open-source foundation hosting many automotive and edge computing projects (e.g., ELISA, Zephyr). Comparable as a peer open-source governance entity that competes for corporate open-source sponsorship budgets and ecosystem positioning.
• SOAFEE: Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge initiative for software-defined vehicles with which Autoware partnered to create the Open AD Kit blueprint. Adjacent peer as both organizations develop reference architectures for next-generation automotive software stacks.
• Open Robotics: Steward of ROS and ROS 2, the underlying middleware on which Autoware is built. Strategic dependency relationship as Autoware's roadmap is tightly coupled to ROS 2 release cadence and the foundation's continued open governance of the middleware.
• ROS-Industrial Consortium: Open-source consortium advancing ROS for industrial automation including manufacturing and logistics. Comparable as a peer open-source consortium using similar governance and membership models to drive adoption of ROS-based software in commercial applications.

Broad incumbents

• Mobileye: Major supplier of ADAS and autonomous driving solutions to global OEMs via EyeQ chips and REM mapping. Broad incumbent representing the closed-source, vertically-integrated approach that competes with open-source platforms like Autoware for OEM design wins.
• NVIDIA (DRIVE platform): Provider of NVIDIA DRIVE, the dominant compute platform for autonomous driving development and deployment. Broad incumbent that competes indirectly through its comprehensive hardware-plus-software AV stack while simultaneously partnering with Autoware for compute optimization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AutowareFdn
• GitHubgithub.com/autowarefoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@autowarefoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-autoware-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Autoware Foundation