Siemens integrates Arm Zena support to accelerate AI-driven vehicle development

Siemens Integrates Arm Zena Support to Accelerate AI-Driven Vehicle Design

Siemens Digital Industries Software has expanded its PAVE360 platform to support the new Arm Zena Compute Subsystems (CSS), marking a significant step for AI-powered automotive development. Arm’s Zena CSS is their first compute subsystem specifically built for automotive use, optimized for performance, power efficiency, and compactness.

This hardware is pre-integrated and validated, aiming to streamline the development of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) where AI functionalities are central to differentiating products in the automotive market.

The Shift to Software-Defined Vehicles

The automotive industry is moving toward SDVs, where software and AI create new in-vehicle experiences. This shift demands faster development cycles and new engineering approaches. Suraj Gajendra from Arm highlighted that AI-defined vehicles require accelerated development and deployment speeds to keep up with evolving customer expectations.

Virtual platforms like Siemens’ PAVE360 enable developers to start building software for the Zena CSS before the physical silicon is ready. This early access significantly reduces the time needed to bring new automotive software to market.

Systems-Aware Development with Siemens and Arm

David Fritz, Vice President at Siemens Digital Industries, emphasized that modern vehicle development must be systems-aware. This means developing the full vehicle system—including hardware and software—in parallel to meet requirements and maintain continuous verification.

Siemens supports this approach by providing a multi-domain digital twin through PAVE360, covering System-on-a-Chip (SoC), electronics/electrical (E/E) systems, and overall vehicle development. This integration helps identify and resolve integration challenges early in the design phase.

Capabilities of the PAVE360 Platform

• Early software development and testing for Arm Zena CSS before physical silicon availability
• Support for SOAFEE (Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge) community initiatives with virtual prototyping
• Functional validation of software within the system and modeling of hardware-software interactions
• Integration of multiple Siemens tools including Innexis, Veloce, Teamcenter, Polarion, Simcenter Prescan, and Amesim
• Continuous requirements management and verification linked to digital twin creation

This integrated workflow addresses the increasing complexity of SDVs and helps maintain alignment across software, hardware, and vehicle system development.

Technical Foundation and Development Workflow

The initial rollout of Zena CSS support leverages Siemens’ Innexis Architecture Native Acceleration (ANA) technology. This allows engineers to begin software development immediately and transition smoothly to silicon-based development when hardware becomes available.

Developers gain access to accurate performance and power analysis through Innexis Developer Pro, maintaining consistency through the entire development cycle.

By combining early software creation, real-time verification, and a comprehensive digital twin, PAVE360 facilitates a systems-aware process that reduces integration issues common in modern vehicle development.

Conclusion

The collaboration between Siemens and Arm introduces a practical path for automotive developers to accelerate AI-based vehicle software development. By enabling early access to Arm’s Zena hardware through PAVE360’s virtual platform, development teams can reduce cycle times and improve system integration from the ground up.

Those interested in advancing their skills in AI software development for automotive or embedded systems can explore relevant courses and training at Complete AI Training.