This article was originally published in Automobilwoche, It is a summary of an interview of Mr. Kishor Patil, Co-Founder, CEO & MD, KPIT Technologies Ltd and Mr. Jens Tillner, Managing Director & Head of Business Development, KPIT Technologies GmbH, conducted by Mr. Klaus-Dieter Flörecke from Automobilwoche.

The Indian software development and integration partner KPIT Technologies wants to expand its position in Germany. An important step in this direction for the company was opening the European software engineering center in Munich last year. “In this center, we have brought together various departments and subsidiaries from Munich and the surrounding area. Most of our engineering specialists based in Germany work there. KPIT exists in Germany for over 15 years and has grown steadily over the years”, explains Managing Director Jens Tillner.

“It is important for us to be present in Germany because many of the major vehicle manufacturers and suppliers are concentrated here. A total of 700 of our around 7000 employees worldwide are employed in Germany”, adds Tillner. The company is also developing in other European countries such as Great Britain, the Netherlands or Sweden.

Balanced Distribution of Revenues

Overall, the company pays attention to a balanced distribution of revenues in the individual markets. “We are very well balanced across the markets. America, Asia, and Europe – each account for a third of our revenue, whereas the largest part of our European revenue we achieve by far in Germany”, explains the Managing Director.

The company’s focus is on the automotive and mobility sectors. “We are essentially specialized in embedded software and have in-depth expertise in the ​​CASE area, which means Connectivity, Autonomy, Shared Mobility, and Electrifications. We are probably one of the largest companies globally, which works in CASE in that large scale” explains CEO and co-founder Kishor Patil. He also sees the company in the role of software integrator, “which accelerates the journey for clients from prototype to production.”

Open for Cooperation

To have the necessary skills on board, the IT company is open to cooperation with other companies. “KPIT also cooperates with new disruptive players or with partners along the value chain, from areas like, e.g., semiconductors, middleware, engineering tools or the cloud, to be able to offer vehicle manufacturers a broader range of solutions,” says Patil.

Tillner added: “In the future, new partnerships will be formed depending on the projects. There will be some fixed alliances and some project-specific alliances. There are, for example, many highly specialized companies that develop certain algorithms or functions. These companies need a partner like us to turn it into a production-grade software, that can be brought with the necessary maturity as well as defect-free to the market”, he is convinced.

On the way to the software-defined vehicle

CEO Patil points out that the automotive industry is on the way towards the software-defined vehicle. “This means that the vehicle manufacturers’ business model will change significantly in the next four to five years, and they will increasingly want to offer additional services. This is where we would like to support and enable our clients.”

It is important for Tillner that customers use software components from KPIT and add parts they have developed themselves. “The goal is a defect-free software product, which can be brought fast to the market. Overall, the separation of software and hardware will increasingly assert itself.”

Vehicle manufacturers show where the journey is going

According to Patil, the suppliers have often developed the software for the vehicle manufacturers in the past. That is changing now. “The vehicle manufacturers now see the software as a key area and want to develop and control it themselves. The operating systems that, for example, Volkswagen, Daimler, or BMW currently bring on the way shows where the journey is headed.”

In his opinion, vehicle manufacturers also need a partner who can help them achieve their goals faster and ensure that “the software works just as well in series production as in the prototype phase. This role we take on. The quality of the software and the integration of software and hardware are the keys to success.”