Joby Aviation Partners with NVIDIA to Propel the Future of Autonomous Flight; Named Exclusive Aviation Launch Partner for the IGX Thor Platform
Joby Aviation, Inc., a pioneer in electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and advanced air mobility technologies, today announced a groundbreaking collaboration with NVIDIA Corporation, one of the world’s leading computing and artificial intelligence companies. Under this partnership, Joby has been selected as the exclusive aviation launch partner for NVIDIA’s newly unveiled IGX Thor platform, an industrial-grade computing architecture powered by NVIDIA’s state-of-the-art Blackwell technology.
This collaboration marks a major milestone in the convergence of aerospace and high-performance computing, accelerating Joby’s vision to deliver safe, certified, and scalable autonomous flight through its proprietary Superpilot™ system.
Advancing the Frontier of Autonomous Aviation
Joby’s partnership with NVIDIA centers around the integration of next-generation AI compute capabilities into Joby’s aircraft systems. The collaboration will leverage the NVIDIA IGX Thor platform, which has been engineered specifically for physical AI—systems that not only perceive and understand the world but also interact with it safely and intelligently in real-time.
This level of computational sophistication is critical for Joby’s Superpilot™ technology, which aims to bring autonomy to both military and civilian aviation applications. From enhancing pilot decision-making to enabling fully autonomous missions, the technology represents a leap forward in how aircraft interact with the world around them.
Gregor Veble Mikić, Flight Research Lead at Joby Aviation, emphasized the transformational potential of this collaboration, stating:
“The autonomous systems under development at Joby are poised to complement human intelligence by providing speed, precision, and stamina beyond what a person alone is capable of. To achieve this, an aircraft needs a powerful onboard computer that can interpret extraordinary amounts of information to make decisions in real-time. Combining NVIDIA’s compute power with our world-class aircraft design, certification, and rigorous flight testing capabilities, we’re enabling a new era of safety-first autonomy in aviation.”
Superpilot™: A New Era of Intelligent Flight
Joby’s Superpilot™ system is being developed as a flexible, certifiable framework for autonomy in aviation. Rather than operating as a single monolithic AI, Superpilot™ interacts with its environment through a continuum of autonomous functions—ranging from assisting pilots with situational awareness and decision-making to performing independent mission management in future applications.
Through the use of NVIDIA’s IGX Thor platform, Joby will gain access to unmatched levels of onboard processing power, supporting an array of advanced capabilities:
1. Autonomous Mission Management
Joby’s aircraft will be able to determine optimal flight paths, request and adapt routes based on weather or air traffic conditions, and react dynamically to unforeseen changes. The system is designed for intuitive human-machine teaming, ensuring that pilots or mission operators maintain oversight while the aircraft executes complex tasks efficiently.
2. Radar and Perception Processing
With the integration of radar, LiDAR, and vision sensors, the aircraft can achieve 360-degree situational awareness. The onboard compute will process vast quantities of sensor data in real-time, identifying obstacles, tracking movement, and maintaining safe navigation—even in challenging environments such as poor visibility, urban canyons, or congested airspace.
3. Sensor Fusion
The IGX Thor platform will enable high-speed sensor fusion, combining input from multiple sensing modalities to form a single, coherent understanding of the aircraft’s surroundings. This allows Joby’s aircraft to deliver unprecedented precision in localization and flight stability, which is essential for safety and certification in both defense and commercial use cases.
Building the Foundation for Certifiable Autonomy
A defining feature of NVIDIA’s IGX Thor platform is its support for industry-recognized functional safety standards, an essential requirement for aviation certification. This allows Joby to pursue certifiable autonomous capabilities that meet stringent regulatory standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other global aviation authorities.
The system’s architecture aligns with the FAA’s ongoing efforts to evolve the national airspace toward accommodating new classes of intelligent, autonomous, and electric aircraft. As Joby advances toward FAA certification for its piloted eVTOL aircraft, the company’s autonomous systems research—powered by NVIDIA—positions it for a seamless transition into future flight operations that leverage increasing levels of autonomy.
Enhancing Safety, Reliability, and Operational Efficiency
Beyond core flight autonomy, the integration of IGX Thor will also empower Joby’s aircraft with advanced features designed to improve reliability, reduce maintenance costs, and enhance overall mission performance. These include:
Predictive System Health Monitoring
Using real-time data and AI-based predictive modeling, Joby’s aircraft will be able to continuously assess its internal systems. This capability enables early detection of potential component wear or malfunctions, prompting proactive maintenance before issues can impact operations—significantly improving safety and aircraft uptime.
Digital Twin Modeling
Each aircraft will maintain a “digital twin”—a virtual replica that continuously evolves using data collected during every flight. This allows Joby’s engineers to analyze performance, simulate new flight conditions, and refine operational models with unmatched fidelity. These digital twins will also integrate with mission control systems, enabling data-driven optimization across the entire fleet.
AI at the Core of Aviation’s Evolution
Veble Mikić further elaborated on the computing demands and safety imperatives of bringing autonomy to the skies:
“Autonomous cars have showcased the ability to interpret large volumes of data to make split-second decisions. For an aircraft, the compute power needed for autonomy is similarly high, but also needs to meet even higher levels of design rigor to achieve certification for operation in controlled airspace. In aviation, every calculation must be perfect, and every decision infallible.”
This statement underscores the critical balance Joby is pursuing—leveraging massive computing capability to process complex data in real-time, while adhering to aviation’s uncompromising safety standards.
By collaborating with NVIDIA, Joby gains access to the most advanced AI computing hardware available, enabling real-time deep learning inference, sensor fusion, and adaptive control at the edge—onboard the aircraft itself. This approach ensures autonomy that is not only intelligent but certifiably safe and operationally resilient.
Strategic Significance for Joby and NVIDIA
For Joby, this collaboration represents a key step in expanding the company’s leadership in AI-enabled aviation systems. While Joby is best known for its development of eVTOL aircraft designed for commercial passenger service, the company is also advancing technologies applicable to defense, logistics, and infrastructure inspection.
NVIDIA’s decision to select Joby as the exclusive aviation launch partner for IGX Thor underscores Joby’s technological maturity, extensive flight testing history, and strong foundation in software-defined aviation systems.
For NVIDIA, the collaboration extends its leadership in industrial AI and robotics into the domain of aerospace autonomy, aligning with the company’s vision to power intelligent machines that operate safely in complex physical environments.
Toward Safe, Scalable Autonomous Flight
As Joby continues its path toward FAA certification of its piloted eVTOL aircraft, the company’s research into autonomy lays the groundwork for the next evolution of air mobility—one in which AI-powered aircraft operate seamlessly alongside traditional aviation systems.
By combining NVIDIA’s computational excellence with Joby’s aeronautical innovation, the partnership signals a new chapter in aviation—where aircraft will not only fly safely and efficiently but will also learn, adapt, and evolve through every mission.
This collaboration sets a powerful precedent for the aerospace industry, highlighting how AI and advanced computing will become foundational to future air transportation systems, defense operations, and beyond.
Joby Aviation, Inc. is a California-based aerospace company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service. Founded in 2009, Joby aims to revolutionize air transportation by offering safe, quiet, and efficient flights that save passengers time while reducing emissions.
NVIDIA is a global leader in accelerated computing, driving innovation in artificial intelligence, deep learning, and high-performance computing platforms. With its latest Blackwell architecture and IGX Thor platform, NVIDIA continues to redefine the possibilities of physical AI across industries—from robotics and healthcare to automotive and aerospace.