Bolt picks NVIDIA software for robotaxis, starting in Madrid in 2027

Bolt picks NVIDIA software for robotaxis, starting in Madrid in 2027

21 October 2026: Bolt, the Estonian ride-hailing and delivery company, has chosen NVIDIA's Alpamayo Stack as the driving software for its European autonomous ride-hailing programme, starting with Lucid electric cars in Madrid in 2027. Bolt calls it the foundation for a rollout of at least 25,000 Level 4-ready Lucid vehicles fitted with NVIDIA's Hyperion platform, within a wider plan for 100,000 autonomous vehicles across Europe and the wider UNECE region by 2035.

Not yet independently verified. NVIDIA's release confirms the Alpamayo choice and the Madrid start in 2027 subject to approval. Lucid and Bolt announced the 25,000-vehicle plan jointly on 17 September 2026, and the 100,000 by 2035 target is Bolt's own, repeated by Electrek. We found no Lucid statement on this October announcement. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

Update, 10 November 2026: The 25,000-vehicle figure was not new in October. TechCrunch reported on 17 September that Lucid and Bolt had jointly announced it, for vehicles built on Lucid's mid-size architecture.

What happens in Madrid first

The Madrid phase begins as data collection: Lucid vehicles gather real-world driving data to develop and validate the system, subject to regulatory approval, before any paid service. Germany and France are named as the next key markets. Jevgeni Kabanov, Bolt's president and head of autonomous driving, points to the region's rules as the reason for the choice: "The Region of Madrid is pioneering a structured framework for commercial autonomous mobility in coordination with national authorities." He also calls Germany a priority, with cities there "already setting out clear ambitions".

Madrid is becoming a test bed: Waymo has started groundwork in the region with first riders also planned for 2027.

Who does what

The split follows the way the industry is dividing up. NVIDIA supplies the driving software and the in-car computer: Alpamayo combines reasoning AI with classical perception and planning, runs on Hyperion and is backed by NVIDIA's Halos safety tooling, and Bolt and NVIDIA will adapt it for European roads and for cars from other makers. Lucid supplies software-defined vehicles. Bolt Autonomous Driving Solutions runs the service: fleet management, regulatory work and the customer app, on a platform Bolt says serves more than 200 million customers. Bolt has already launched autonomous mobility in Luxembourg and works with Pony.ai and Stellantis on other parts of its programme.

"Robotaxis will scale when every vehicle is built on a common, safety-engineered foundation," said Rishi Dhall, NVIDIA's vice president of automotive.

What the numbers do and do not commit to

The 25,000 vehicles are described as a foundation the programme will lay, and the 100,000 as a 2035 target, not orders with dates. Fleet operators and cities planning around robotaxi supply should read them that way. We list 18 firms in our autonomous driving company category and 15 in autonomous vehicle operators; Bolt's model puts it in the second group, buying the driving technology rather than building it.

Company profile on TrustList: Bolt

Sources

• Bolt: Bolt selects NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack for its autonomous ride-hailing programme in Europe, 21 October 2026
• MamStartup: Bolt wybiera NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack, 21 October 2026
• NVIDIA: European Mobility Leaders Build Safe Vehicles and Robotaxi Fleets on NVIDIA Hyperion, 21 October 2026
• TechCrunch: Lucid Motors has a potential robotaxi partner for Europe, 17 September 2026
• Electrek: Lucid and Bolt robotaxi with NVIDIA Alpamayo, Madrid 2027, 21 October 2026