Ride-hailing platform Bolt announces use of NVIDIA autonomous driving software, plans data collection in Madrid starting 2027
Bolt confirms NVIDIA Alpamayo as its software solution for European robotaxis, aiming to start in Madrid in 2027. Compared to Lucid's annual delivery volume of only 15,000 units, its commitment of 60,000 vehicles highlights that large-scale implementation remains constrained by supply chain and regulatory factors.
Ride-hailing platform Bolt announced on October 22, 2026, that it will adopt NVIDIA's Alpamayo Stack autonomous driving software and initially introduce Lucid vehicles to advance its driverless taxi plan in Europe. According to reports, the plan is expected to begin road data collection in Madrid, Spain, in 2027, laying the foundation for the deployment of at least 25,000 vehicles. This partnership fills in the previously undetermined autonomous driving software supplier from the fleet plan announced by both parties in September.
Rishi Dhall, Vice President of Automotive at NVIDIA, stated that the Alpamayo Stack combines reasoning-based AI with traditional perception and planning technologies, paired with the Halos safety system, supporting validation through monitoring, simulation, and road testing. Jevgeni Kabanov, President and Head of Autonomous Driving at Bolt, noted that initial vehicles in Madrid will not carry passengers, and data collection operations still require approval from regulatory authorities. Germany and France are listed as subsequent key markets, with no launch date yet announced for passenger-carrying driverless services.
Although the Bolt and Lucid partnership commits to at least 25,000 vehicles, combined with the global commitment of at least 35,000 Gravity models under the previous Uber partnership, the total number of vehicles across Lucid's two autonomous taxi plans has reached at least 60,000. However, data shows that Lucid delivered 15,841 vehicles in full-year 2025 and 10,852 vehicles in the first nine months of 2026. Based on 2025 delivery volumes, the committed quantities in both projects approach four years' worth of total deliveries. This indicates a significant gap between procurement commitments and actual operational capability, with future deployment progress depending on software validation, vehicle supply, and approvals from regulatory authorities in various countries.