NVIDIA Launches Alpamayo Open-Source AI Suite for Autonomous Vehicles

NVIDIA announced the Alpamayo family of open-source artificial intelligence models, simulation frameworks, and datasets aimed at advancing autonomous vehicle technology at CES 2026. The development introduces new resources for companies working on self-driving and driver-assistance systems.

The Alpamayo portfolio features Alpamayo 1, a model with 10 billion parameters designed to process video data and produce driving trajectories along with reasoning traces. This model is part of a broader suite that includes simulation tools and extensive driving datasets.

AlpaSim, an open-source simulation platform, was released alongside the AI models to support high-fidelity autonomous vehicle development. The Physical AI Open Datasets, which contain over 1,700 hours of driving data from various locations and conditions, were also made available as part of the launch.

Reuters reported that NVIDIA released Alpamayo-R1, a vision-language-action model that enables vehicles to interpret sensor data and describe it using natural language. This approach allows vehicles to provide explanations for their driving decisions in real time.

What the numbers show

• Alpamayo 1 features 10 billion parameters
• Physical AI Open Datasets include more than 1,700 hours of driving data
• The Mercedes-Benz CLA sensor suite has 10 cameras, 5 radar sensors, and 12 ultrasonic sensors
• Alpamayo-powered features will debut in the US in Q1 2026 and Europe in Q2 2026

Electrek stated that the 2025 Mercedes-Benz CLA will be the first production vehicle to include NVIDIA’s full autonomous vehicle stack, incorporating Alpamayo reasoning capabilities. The system in the CLA will initially offer Level 2+ driver assistance, with future development aimed at reaching Level 4 autonomy.

NVIDIA described Alpamayo as a tool for enabling autonomous vehicles to handle complex environments, manage rare scenarios, and provide explanations for their actions. The company said that mobility industry participants such as Lucid, JLR, Uber, and Berkeley DeepDrive are showing interest in using Alpamayo for reasoning-based Level 4 autonomy development.

According to Electrek, the Mercedes-Benz CLA equipped with Alpamayo will launch in the United States in the first quarter of 2026, followed by Europe in the second quarter and later in Asia. The vehicle’s sensor suite will include multiple cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors to support its driver-assistance features.

Industry reaction

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang described Alpamayo as the "ChatGPT moment for physical AI" in a company statement. The company also stated that several mobility leaders are interested in adopting Alpamayo for advanced autonomous vehicle projects.

Electrek and Reuters reported on the integration of Alpamayo into upcoming Mercedes-Benz vehicles and highlighted its open-source nature and reasoning capabilities as notable developments in the autonomous driving sector.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.