How TRATON and Applied Intuition Will Partner to Deploy Software Across the Commercial Vehicle Industry

March 17, 2025
1 min read

“This partnership is not just about a vehicle software platform. It’s about pioneering new frontiers in vehicle software and intelligence across the trucking ecosystem.”

That is how Qasar Younis, Applied Intuition Co-Founder and CEO, summed up the company’s partnership with global commercial vehicle manufacturing powerhouse TRATON, announced today. The partnership is poised to transform the trucking, mining, and transportation industries by enabling full software-defined vehicle (SDV) capabilities across TRATON’s brands and, subsequently, other OEMs.

“The collaboration between our teams has always been rooted in an alignment of culture and technology, particularly in our pursuit of technical leadership, rapid innovation, and safety,” Younis said. “We can learn from TRATON’s deep expertise in industrializing software and bring our products to hundreds of thousands of vehicles, building better, safer experiences for our customers around the world.”

Path to Innovation

TRATON is a global leader in the commercial vehicle landscape, with a portfolio of brands that includes Scania, MAN, International, and Volkswagen Truck & Bus. Each brings its unique history of innovation and excellence, driving TRATON’s mission of transforming transportation together for a sustainable world. From Scania’s award-winning approach in sustainable transport solutions to MAN and International’s developments in electric trucking technology and Volkswagen Truck & Bus’s market leadership in Europe and Brazil, TRATON’s influence spans industries and regions.

“The heavy-duty industry is moving quickly in the area of SDVs. This shift in technology requires a step change in mindset and processes,” said Michael Skarped, who is heading TRATON’s organization for SDVs. “This partnership is a natural next step in executing our software strategy, with a focus on building a scalable platform for software development and deployment.”

A composite image of four trucks
The TRATON brands Scania, MAN, International, and Volkswagen Truck & Bus

The collaboration will bolster TRATON’s standing as an innovator in commercial vehicles and transportation. Harnessing Applied Intuition’s leading-edge software products, TRATON aims to fast-track innovation across its global vehicle lineup, enhancing both performance and efficiency.

“Partnering with Applied Intuition enables us to push the boundaries of what our products can achieve,” said Niklas Klingenberg, Member of the Executive Board of TRATON SE, responsible for Group Research & Development (R&D). “The company’s expertise in software development and focus on speed complement our core competencies, ensuring that every product we ship is smartly engineered for the future.”

Partnership Goals

The cornerstone of this partnership is the deployment of Applied Intuition’s industry-leading Vehicle OS across all TRATON brands. TRATON has a strong history of developing software in-house and chose Applied Intuition as a software partner thanks to both companies’ focus on speed and technical excellence. The partnership will enable TRATON to adapt and deploy new technologies even faster than before.

TRATON will integrate its in-house platform and application software with Applied Intuition’s Vehicle OS and AI-powered developer tooling to develop, test, and deploy full SDV capabilities across brands:

  • Vehicle OS: Applied Intuition’s scalable, extensible, and modular software platform will allow TRATON to develop complete vehicle software faster and implement new technologies flexibly across brands.
  • AI-driven developer toolchain: Applied Intuition’s developer toolchain will enable TRATON engineers to develop, test, and deploy vehicle software with virtualized testing in a cloud-native environment and fully integrated system engineering workflows.

“Flexibility and modularity—that’s the core of how our Vehicle OS unlocks the full capabilities of SDVs,” said Peter Ludwig, Co-Founder and CTO of Applied Intuition. “Our Vehicle OS is at the core of our partnership with TRATON and assists their engineers across all vehicle domains to develop, test, and deploy cutting-edge vehicle software.”

Market and Customer Impact 

The strategic partnership between Applied Intuition and TRATON is positioned to bring new value to customers and set new industry benchmarks. “Software is not just a component of our vehicles; it moves the entire trucking ecosystem forward,” Klingenberg said. “With Applied Intuition, we’re accelerating our R&D to deliver vehicles and other products that raise the bar in technology and innovation.”

Accelerating development and deployment

Through their collaborative efforts, Applied Intuition and TRATON are accelerating the development process, significantly reducing the time it takes to bring innovations from the drawing board to the road. Using Applied Intuition’s Vehicle OS and developer tooling, TRATON will be able to ensure that new technologies can be deployed rapidly and at scale. This agility enables the company to respond more swiftly to market demands and technological trends, providing customers with the latest advancements in vehicle technology much sooner than ever before.

Enhancing software complexity and capability

The partnership focuses on developing sophisticated SDVs that are equipped to meet the demands of modern transportation, such as automated driving (AD) functionality, continuous over-the-air (OTA) software updates, and support for the latest fleet management technologies. Applied Intuition’s Vehicle OS allows for greater customization and flexibility, ensuring that each brand under the TRATON umbrella can tailor its offerings to meet specific customer needs while maintaining high standards of quality and performance.

Ultimately, the collaboration between Applied Intuition and TRATON is designed to improve the end-user experience. TRATON customers will benefit from vehicles and products that are more reliable, feature-rich, and capable of adapting to evolving roads and regulations. Furthermore, the focus on sustainable and efficient solutions aligns with increasing global demands for environmentally friendly transportation, making TRATON’s vehicles more appealing to eco-conscious businesses aiming to decrease their carbon footprint.

Looking Ahead

A series of projects and initiatives lie ahead that will not only increase the capabilities of today’s commercial vehicles but also define the future of transportation technology. While the multi-year partnership involves deploying vehicle software platforms for all TRATON brands, other objectives include:

  • Innovation cycles that take days instead of years: Drastically reducing the time from idea to fleet implementation, allowing for continuous improvements through OTA updates, and ensuring scalable adaptability across different hardware generations.
  • Sustainability initiatives: Launching initiatives to increase the sustainability of commercial vehicles, including electrification projects and software optimizations for better fuel efficiency.

For a look at some of the technology behind this partnership, learn more about Applied Intuition’s Vehicle OS. Follow Applied Intuition and TRATON to keep up on how we drive the future of transportation together.