Automotive embedded software specialist Elektrobit and Canonical are partnering to develop an automotive version of Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux distribution. The move is aimed at enabling the transition towards software-defined vehicles.

Ubuntu is one of the most widely distributed Linux versions in the commercial world, and is available on both Microsoft Windows 10 and Windows 11 through WSL. The distribution has a large developer community, which the partnership aims to leverage in developing Ubuntu-based automotive-grade embedded software. The two companies aim to enable long-term maintenance, over-the-air updates and functional vehicle safety innovation.

“Canonical is proud to collaborate with Elektrobit in building the next generation of automotive software,” said Régis Paquette, VP global alliances and channels, Canonical. “Combining Elektrobit’s world-class automotive offering with Ubuntu’s popularity and reliability will pave the way to a new era of software-defined vehicles. Ubuntu’s availability across ECUs, developers’ desktops and the cloud reduces OS fragmentation and maintenance efforts while facilitating digital twin deployments. Together with the open-source community, Elektrobit and Canonical will provide the automotive industry with greater stability, enabling greater efficiency and focus on their key differentiators.”

“Elektrobit’s partnership with Canonical will enable us to offer an OS solution with a unique value proposition to the automotive industry,” said Michael Robertson, Vice President, Head of Products and Strategy, Elektrobit. “This open-source solution will complement the product portfolio of Elektrobit, and offer the key elements of an automotive OS solution from a single source.”