Einride said on 21 October 2026 it would expand its Nvidia partnership to test the Alpamayo AI model in self-driving trucks, with a live road evaluation planned for the second half of 2027, Reuters reported. The Swedish company will first run the model alongside its existing driving system, without giving it control of the vehicle.
Key points
- Einride plans to adapt Alpamayo using data from its commercial freight operations.
- Initial tests will compare its decisions with Einride’s software and a human driver, without letting the model control the truck.
- A live road evaluation is planned for the second half of 2027.
Alpamayo starts in shadow mode
Alpamayo is Nvidia’s vision-language-action model for driving. It processes information about a vehicle’s surroundings, recommends actions and can give reasons for those recommendations. Einride said it intends to become the first trucking operator to deploy the model and will adapt it with data gathered during commercial freight operations.
The initial test will use “shadow mode”. Alpamayo will run alongside Einride’s current system but will not steer or otherwise control the vehicle. The companies will compare its proposed decisions with those made by Einride’s driving software and a human driver. That places the first stage of the expanded partnership in evaluation, ahead of the planned road test.
Einride said Alpamayo could shorten development cycles and help it extend autonomous driving to other kinds of vehicles and routes. The company is seeking to expand its autonomous freight services while reducing development costs. Its planned comparison with the existing system will come before any live road evaluation of the model.
September Nvidia deal extends beyond Alpamayo
The Alpamayo work extends an Nvidia partnership announced in September that covers autonomous driving, safety systems and AI model training. Einride plans to adapt Alpamayo using data collected during its commercial freight operations, and the companies will compare the model’s decisions with those of Einride’s driving software and a human driver.
Einride’s September rollout in Germany provides a separate example of its autonomous freight operations. The company said it had put the first cab-less autonomous truck into regular service on public roads there, carrying goods for supermarket chain Lidl. That service predates the Alpamayo road evaluation, which remains planned for 2027.
Einride’s description of the Lidl operation concerns a truck already carrying goods. Its Alpamayo plan concerns a model that will initially run without controlling a truck. The distinction matters for the two announcements: one describes an operating freight service, while the other sets out a sequence of tests for a proposed addition to Einride’s driving technology.
Nvidia names European Hyperion participants
Nvidia also highlighted Einride on 21 October among European mobility companies showcasing autonomous-vehicle applications on its Hyperion platform. The other companies it named were Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Bolt. Einride’s announcement concerns its own plan to test Alpamayo in trucks, alongside that wider group of companies working on vehicle applications using Nvidia technology.
Einride plans to compare Alpamayo’s decisions with its driving software and a human driver, and says the technology could help it extend autonomous driving to more vehicle types and routes. The company says Alpamayo could make that development work faster. Einride plans a live road evaluation of the model in the second half of 2027.
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