PlusAI Brings NVIDIA Alpamayo Foundation Model to Autonomous Trucks

SAN JOSE, Calif. — March 16, 2026 — PlusAI today announced an expanded collaboration with NVIDIA that supports the commercialization of PlusAI’s SuperDrive™ virtual driver for fully driverless commercial operations on factory-built autonomous trucks expected to begin in 2027.

The collaboration, announced at NVIDIA GTC, advances three interconnected capabilities in the SuperDrive self-driving system: AI reasoning through the NVIDIA Alpamayo foundation model, hardware-level integration through NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion and safety through NVIDIA Halos.

“By working with NVIDIA as one of the first partners to apply Alpamayo to autonomous trucking, we are building on an AI foundation that spans cloud reasoning to edge deployment. This continued collaboration between PlusAI and NVIDIA across Alpamayo, Hyperion, and Halos ensures that as AI evolves, PlusAI remains at the forefront, delivering a certifiable, autonomous trucking solution that can redefine global freight,” said David Liu, CEO and Co-founder of PlusAI.

Teaching Trucks to Reason

Building on years of collaboration, PlusAI is now one of the first to move into the next generation of AI reasoning with adapting the NVIDIA Alpamayo foundation model specifically for heavy duty trucking. The adaptation begins with the sensor setup. A fully loaded semi-truck sees the world differently, with distinct sightlines, blind spots, and spatial requirements that must be considered in the model’s foundational representations.

To deploy that capability within the strict compute limits of automotive-grade hardware, PlusAI uses a teacher-student architecture. A large 10-billion-parameter reasoning Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model is trained using reinforcement learning against safety constraints and traffic rules. As a result of this training, it develops advanced reasoning capabilities. A compact 0.5-billion-parameter model then learns from it, inheriting that reasoning while running efficiently at the edge, where latency is measured in milliseconds.  The reasoning model works in conjunction with other models running on board.

The result is a system that can reason about complex, novel driving situations without requiring a data center on wheels.

Built Into the Truck, Not Bolted On

In collaboration with International Motors, PlusAI and NVIDIA are advancing production-ready Level 4 autonomous trucks built on the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Hyperion platform.

The new factory-built vehicles will integrate:

• International’s vehicle architecture and manufacturing expertise

• PlusAI’s SuperDrive™ virtual driver technology

• NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor system-on-a-chip (SoC) and NVIDIA DriveOS, based on NVIDIA Halos safety system.

Engineered from the factory floor up, the trucks feature a combination of sensors including lidar, radar, and cameras which provide 360-degree awareness surrounding the vehicle. Paired with high-performance AI computing from NVIDIA, the platform delivers the redundancy, sensor fusion, and high-speed inference required for safe driverless operation in complex, long-haul freight environments.

Independent Validation, Not Just Internal Testing

To ensure the safe scaling of fully driverless commercial operations, PlusAI has joined the NVIDIA Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab and is now one of its newest members. 

NVIDIA Halos is a full-stack, comprehensive safety system that unifies vehicle architecture, AI models, chips, software, tools, and services to support the safe development of autonomous vehicles (AVs), from cloud to car. 

NVIDIA is the first company in the world to establish an ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)-accredited AI Systems Inspection Lab, integrating functional safety, cybersecurity, AI, and regulations into a unified safety framework.

In addition to third-party certifications PlusAI obtained, the integration of PlusAI’s SuperDrive™ with NVIDIA platform is scheduled to undergo independent assessment against three international standards as part of Halos AI Systems Inspection Lab scope: functional safety (ISO 26262), cybersecurity (ISO/SAE 21434), and AI safety (ISO PAS 8800).

Passing inspection yields an official certificate that directly supports final certification by globally recognized bodies. The approval from global organizations opens doors to commercial deployment in major markets.

“PlusAI’s integration of the NVIDIA AI stack, from training foundation models with Alpamayo to deployment on Hyperion platform, marks a significant milestone in our continued, long-term collaboration. By being one of the first to adapt Alpamayo for the unique demands of heavy-duty trucking, PlusAI is demonstrating how generative AI can move from the data center to the driver’s seat. This comprehensive approach across our Alpamayo, Hyperion, and Halos platforms provides the end-to-end framework that can accelerate the deployment of safe, production-ready autonomous trucking to the global market,” said Rishi Dhall, Vice President of Automotive at NVIDIA.

This tightly integrated approach can enable scalable manufacturing and position PlusAI and its OEM partners for large-scale freight deployment of autonomous trucks.

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About PlusAI

PlusAI is an artificial intelligence company pioneering AI-based virtual driver software for factory-built autonomous trucks. Headquartered in Silicon Valley with operations in the United States and Europe, PlusAI was named by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Partners including TRATON GROUP’s Scania, MAN, and International brands, Hyundai Motor Company, Iveco Group, NVIDIA, Bosch, DSV, and Goodyear are working with PlusAI to accelerate the deployment of next-generation autonomous trucks. PlusAI announced in June 2025 that it plans to go public via a merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX (“Churchill IX”). For more information, visit www.plus.ai or follow PlusAI on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

About Churchill Capital Corp IX

Churchill IX is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. It may pursue an initial business combination target in any business or industry.

Additional Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It

The proposed transaction will be submitted to shareholders of Churchill IX for their consideration. Churchill IX has filed the Registration Statement with the SEC, which includes a proxy statement/prospectus that has been distributed to Churchill IX’s shareholders in connection with Churchill IX’s solicitation of proxies for the vote by Churchill IX’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction and other matters described in the Registration Statement, as well as the prospectus relating to the offer of the securities to be issued to PlusAI stockholders in connection with the completion of the proposed transaction. The Registration Statement has been declared effective by the SEC and Churchill IX has mailed a proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents to its shareholders as of the record date established for voting on the proposed transaction. Before making any voting or investment decision, Churchill IX shareholders, PlusAI stockholders and other interested persons are advised to read the proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other documents filed with the SEC by Churchill IX in connection with the proposed transaction, as these documents will contain important information about Churchill IX, PlusAI and the proposed transaction. Shareholders may obtain a copy of the proxy statement statement/prospectus, as well as other documents filed by Churchill IX with the SEC, without charge, at the SEC’s website located at www.sec.gov or by directing a written request to Churchill Capital Corp IX, 640 Fifth Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “plan,” “project,” “will,” “estimate,” “intend,” “expect,” “believe,” “target,” “continue,” “can,” “scheduled”, “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict”, “accelerate” or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. We have based these forward-looking statements on current expectations and projections about future events. These statements include: expectations regarding the completion of the business combination between PlusAI and Churchill IX; estimates of customer adoption rates and usage patterns; projections regarding the value and capabilities of autonomous driving solutions; projections of development and commercialization timelines; expectations regarding the impact of partnerships on the commercialization of SuperDrive; expectations regarding PlusAI’s ability to execute its business model; expectations regarding safety and system maturity of SuperDrive; PlusAI’s deployment of virtual driver software; the impact of new features and capabilities on SuperDrive’s performance; PlusAI’s expectations concerning relationships with strategic partners, suppliers, governments, regulatory bodies and other third parties; the improvement of SuperDrive in future updates; the ability of PlusAI or its partners to improve iteration and the speed of development cycles; and the SuperDrive platform’s ability to support long-term development and commercial deployment.

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Participants in the Solicitation

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Contacts

Investors Contact
Derrick Nueman
ir@plus.ai

Media Contact
Lauren Kwan
pr@plus.ai