Bach Seat

Automakers have made a beeline for Central California in recent years. They are setting up research and engineering facilities in the shadows of consumer electronics giants Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL). The Detroit Bureau asks if the migration be turning around? A major Silicon Valley firm, NVIDIA (NVDA), is reversing the trend by setting up a technical center in Ann Arbor.

AnnArbor.com reports the tech center will initially support about 20 employees. They will be primarily dedicated to working with the local automotive community. Danny Shapiro, director of automotive for Santa Clara, CA, based NVIDIA said that more work will likely be done at the center with supercomputing and graphics development. NVIDIA VP for worldwide automotive sales and Ann Arbor site leader Phil Hughes said. “We’re going to have software engineers, hardware engineers and field application engineers working here as well as people on the business and marketing side.” 

Who uses NVIDIA

Mr. Shapiro said the new facility will help the company’s growing team of Michigan-based engineers and executives work with automakers and suppliers. The Michigan team will develop the next generation of infotainment, navigation, and driver assistance programs. NVIDIA points out that Chrysler, Ford (F), General Motors (GM), and Volkswagen are already using NVIDIA products in their designs. NVIDIA believes having a technology center near the heart of the auto manufacturing community in Michigan makes sense.

“Silicon Valley is the future, Detroit is the past,” said NVIDIA’s Shapiro. “That’s the conventional wisdom. Well, the conventional wisdom isn’t quite right. We’ve been investing in Michigan for years and we’re accelerating these efforts by opening the Nvidia Technology Center.”

Detroit Bureau points out that NVIDIA isn’t alone. Other high-tech firms opening centers in Southeast Michigan are Microsoft (MSFT) and Google, Mr. Shapiro noted. “This is where consumer electronics and safety advancements are being made that will change the driving experience for all of us,” the executive told the Detroit Bureau. “Nvidia has been fueling this trend for years. A number of our employees live in the area and are working closely with car companies.”

High-tech start-ups

While there’s a small but growing presence of high-tech start-ups within the Motor City itself, many of the firms setting up shop in Michigan have chosen to go to Ann Arbor the home of the University of Michigan. “All of this activity has helped make Ann Arbor a high-tech hub and not just for the Detroit area,” Shapiro noted.

Michael Finney, president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp., said Nvidia already powers in-dash instrument clusters as well as navigation and information displays in more than 4 million vehicles from automakers such as Audi, Bentley, BMW, Lamborghini, Maserati, Rolls Royce, Tesla, and Volkswagen.

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I have covered the new blood moving into the neighborhood, including SAIC, and Bill Ford’s plans to make Detroit the Silicon Valley of Mobility.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.