ECARX Holdings Inc. announced that pursuant to a shareholders' agreement dated November 16, 2023, a joint venture has been established between ECARX and smart, the new-premium intelligent all-electric auto brand, through their respective subsidiaries. The joint venture, smart (Zhejiang) Software Technology Co. Ltd. ("smart Software Technology"), aims to drive the development of intelligent experiences within smart vehicles.

Through this new partnership, ECARX and smart will work together to drive technological advances, expand the research and development ecosystem through talent exchanges and joint innovation, and accelerate their global expansion efforts. ECARX and smart previously collaborated on the smart #1 and smart #3 models, for which they jointly developed smartOS, a highly acclaimed operating system with a unique HMI design. Smart Software Technology marks the next step in a deepening relationship, which will leverage each company's respective brand resources and product development capabilities to build upon smartOS by expanding the research and development ecosystem, streamlining procurement and supply chain processes, and integrating teams of highly-skilled technical talent to drive vehicle development.

Leveraging ECARX's extensive technical and product capabilities, the companies plan to integrate ECARX's high-performance Makalu computing platform, powered by AMD Ryzen embedded V2000 processors and Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs, into smart series models. Together, they will improve customer satisfaction, enhance brand loyalty, and expedite the deployment of the ECARX Makalu computing platform across smart's range of models. Furthermore, ECARX and smart'll jointly explore new possibilities for immersive cockpit experiences in areas including 3A games, artificial intelligence, brand IP incubation, and ecosystem development.

The companies will also explore opportunities to deepen their cooperation in other areas.