Auto tech firm Veoneer inks collaboration deal with Qualcomm, shares rise

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Automotive technology firm Veoneer and U.S. chip giant Qualcomm have signed a collaboration deal to develop a software and chip platform for advanced driver assistance systems, Veoneer said on Tuesday.

The companies first communicated their plans to team up in August last year, and their joint platform will seek to rival companies such as Intel's Mobileye

Veoneer, which also makes radars and vision systems, said it had formed Arriver, a dedicated software unit for the development of the complete perception and drive policy software stack.

"Today's agreement with Qualcomm Technologies and the creation of Arriver are key milestones in Veoneer's development," Veoneer CEO Jan Carlson said in a statement.

Veoneer shares, which have more than doubled since the preliminary plans with Qualcomm were first announced, rose 2.8% in early Stockholm trading on Tuesday.

Veoneer said that Arriver software is already functional on Qualcomm's Snapdragon Ride Platform, "which will be available for automotive customers in coming months".

Sweden-based Veoneer said the collaboration between the companies had been presented to a number of car makers and Tier-1 automotive suppliers with very positive feedback to the intended specifications and capabilities of the platform.

Veoneer will own 100% of Arriver, but the unit will operate under specific information handling protocols and reporting structures as part of its collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, it said.

(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Niklas Pollard)