Tier IV’s Open-Source Playbook for Scaling Autonomy Globally
Christian John, President, TIER IV North America joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how TIER IV is scaling open-source autonomous driving platform software globally.
Tier IV is using the foundational elements of Autoware, an open-source autonomous driving software stack to build scalable, modular reference platforms for everything from robotaxis to autonomous buses and industrial logistics. This open platform approach allows multiple companies to collaborate, innovate, and distribute development costs across the ecosystem, similar to Meta’s open-source LLama model for AI.
In Japan, TIER IV is experiencing particular success with autonomous buses in Japan, where they’ve secured approximately 50% of municipal contracts as part of Japan’s Mobility DX initiative addressing the country’s aging population and driver shortage.
As autonomy scales globally, open-source autonomous driving software could play a vital role. It’s a role that TIER IV wants to play in the global autonomy market.
Recorded on Friday, April 18, 2025
Episode Chapters
- 0:00 TIER IV Platform
- 6:27 Open-Source Software
- 8:25 Autoware
- 9:52 Building on the TIER IV Platform
- 11:52 Japanese Autonomy Market
- 17:32 Nippon Steel
- 21:46 Vehicle Platforms
- 23:51 Developing Public Trust
- 26:31 Robotaxis
- 31:58 Scaling in North America
- 36:00 Future of TIER IV
