“No Longer Just a Supplier”: How KPIT Technologies Is Leveraging the Pace of Transformation

Since the company established a presence in Munich 20 years ago, its business model has undergone a dramatic shift.

Two decades after entering the German market, KPIT Technologies has evolved from a specialized engineering service provider into a strategic software partner for the automotive industry.

For Sachin Tikekar, President & Joint Managing Director of the company founded in Pune, India, in 1990, this development reflects not only technological progress but also a fundamental transformation of the business model-driven by software, platform thinking, and artificial intelligence.

Acquisitions and Partnerships

When KPIT entered Europe in 2006, its focus was on vehicle diagnostics and electric powertrains. Software already played a role but was closely tied to hardware.

Today, software is the central value driver. With the transition to the software-defined vehicle (SDV), KPIT has systematically expanded its portfolio-through acquisitions, partnerships, and platform initiatives.

Examples include strengthening E/E architecture capabilities through Technica Engineering, adding new UX and cockpit capabilities, and expanding cost engineering and manufacturing intelligence. Together with ZF Friedrichshafen and Qualcomm, the company also founded the middleware initiative Qorix. The goal: open, scalable software foundations for the next generation of vehicles.

The result is a “chip-to-cloud” approach that supports OEMs across the entire lifecycle-from architecture and integration to series production.

A New Division of Roles

Alongside the technological shift, collaboration with customers has fundamentally changed. Whereas Tier-1 suppliers once served as the primary interface, software partners are now increasingly working directly with OEMs.

The reason: automakers view software as a strategic asset and are deliberately separating hardware and software development.

For KPIT, this means an elevation of its role. The company is positioning itself as a key, vendor-independent software integrator.

“We are no longer just a supplier, but a development partner,” Tikekar states.

Instead of black-box delivery, the focus is on transparent, long-term partnerships in which software remains the property of the OEMs. KPIT provides the code while also supporting the setup of complete software organizations and development processes.

Europe Remains the Most Important Market

This shift is also reflected in business performance: after the pandemic, KPIT benefited strongly from the ramp-up of initial SDV programs. More recently, however, growth has slowed. Reasons cited include geopolitical uncertainties, cost pressures, and strategic realignments within automotive groups.

Tikekar sees this less as a period of weakness and more as consolidation. The industry is moving from experimentation toward industrialization. This is precisely where KPIT sees itself well positioned-especially in software integration and scalable platforms.

Europe remains the most important market in this development, followed by the USA and Japan. China plays a more selective role-primarily as a source of innovation and a benchmarking environment.

AI Across the Entire Development Process

With the growing integration of AI, the transformation is reaching a new stage. KPIT has been using machine learning in production projects for years, for example in autonomous driving or validation. What is new, however, is the breadth of its application: today, AI permeates the entire development process.

With its “Automotive Intelligent Platform,” KPIT is pursuing an integrated approach in which AI is embedded directly into engineering workflows. The aim is to significantly accelerate development cycles while improving quality.

Challenges remain substantial: safety, verifiability, and regulatory requirements set strict limits. Especially in the European context, AI is therefore being introduced in an evolutionary manner-delivering efficiency gains without compromising homologation and compliance.

New Opportunities

Against this backdrop, the free trade agreement between the EU and India is gaining importance. For KPIT, with a strong presence in both regions, it opens up new opportunities for collaboration, talent mobility, and more resilient supply chains.

Tikekar sees this less as a tool to “catch up” with China and more as an opportunity to combine European engineering excellence with Indian software scalability and AI expertise.