The DRIVE AI Industry Consortium
UC Berkeley's DRIVE AI Industry Consortium is a pre-competitive platform that helps companies test, validate, and deploy safety-critical, connected, and automated mobility technologies through applied research and collaboration with public agencies in real operating environments.
What is DRIVE AI?
DRIVE AI brings together industry, government, and academia to address the system-level challenges of deploying advanced mobility technologies at scale. Rather than focusing on vehicles alone, the consortium concentrates on the infrastructure, data, operations, and workforce conditions required for safe and effective deployment. Based at UC Berkeley and supported by an active ecosystem of public-sector partners, DRIVE AI provides a neutral environment where members can engage early with emerging deployment frameworks, operational requirements, and real-world constraints.
Why DRIVE AI
While innovation in automation, electrification, and AI is accelerating, scaled deployment remains constrained by fragmented infrastructure, unclear operational expectations, workforce gaps, and limited access to real-world test environments. DRIVE AI exists to close that gap by aligning applied research, shared infrastructure, and workforce development with the realities of public-sector operations and deployment timelines. Through a neutral, pre-competitive model, the consortium enables companies to engage early, reduce deployment risk, and shape the frameworks that will guide future implementation.
Research Focus
DRIVE AI's research thrusts focus on the operational and infrastructure challenges that define real-world deployment of advanced mobility systems. Core areas include connected and cooperative infrastructure, digital twins for safety analysis and operational planning, work zone and emergency response coordination, infrastructure sensing and data integration, and deployment-ready automation frameworks. These focus areas are shaped collaboratively with industry and public-sector partners to ensure applied research remains grounded in implementation realities and transferable across corridors and regions.
A founding cohort, with more on the way.
DRIVE AI members span public agencies and the companies building the autonomous future, co-located in one ecosystem at the field station.
What Members Gain
Through DRIVE AI, members engage in a pre-competitive, deployment-focused ecosystem that connects industry with public agencies, real-world environments, and applied research. The consortium is designed to reduce deployment risk, accelerate learning, and provide early insight into the technical, operational, and workforce conditions shaping the future of connected and automated mobility.
Connected infrastructure and V2X integration
Cooperative and automated systems readiness
Emergency response and AV coordination
Infrastructure sensing and data fusion
Work zone safety and dynamic data exchange
Digital twins for safety, planning, & operations
Applied, Member-Directed Research Portfolio
Members help shape applied research priorities and participate in projects grounded in infrastructure, operational, and safety realities beyond lab experimentation.
Access to Real-World Facilities & Testbeds
Members gain access to deployment-oriented facilities and environments where technologies can be tested, evaluated, and refined under real operating conditions.
Technical Workshops & Convenings
Members participate in technical workshops, working groups, and convenings designed to share lessons learned and align around emerging challenges and solutions.
Workforce & Talent Pipelines
Access to students and training programs aligned to AV, EV, V2X, and infrastructure operations supports recruiting and workforce development goals.
Public Agency & DOT Engagement
Direct engagement with DOTs and operating partners provides insight into public-sector needs, timelines, and deployment considerations.
Early Visibility into Deployment Frameworks
Members gain early insight into evolving deployment frameworks, standards, and roadmaps, helping inform product strategy and reduce downstream risk.
Richmond Field Station: The home of DRIVE AI.
The Richmond Field Station campus is an R&D testbed with an AV test track, V2X lab, drone park, and the world's largest shake table for earthquake testing, built for deep tech at full scale across land, sea, sky, and space.
Autonomous vehicles, connected infrastructure, and next-generation mobility.
SkyAdvanced aviation for infrastructure inspection, logistics, and monitoring.
SeaMarine research and bioenergy innovation supporting coastal infrastructure and ecology.
SpaceAerospace, robotics, and sensing technologies advancing next-generation exploration.
AV Test Track and V2X Lab
Drone park · Part 107 airspace
Shared labs & workspace for industry partners
Hear from our members:
Founding member enrollment is open for 2026.
Join a neutral, federally-aligned research platform built to move with the industry. From content-only participation to a full founding-partner seat on the Steering Committee, start where it makes sense.
Contributing Partner
Join the community and help shape the roadmap.
- Join the DRIVE AI community and network
- ITS Berkeley student pipeline + job listings
- Fall 2026 Summit recognition
Education Supporting Sponsor
Suggest a module and fund a piece of the curriculum.
- Fund one foundational education module
- Built with Berkeley faculty, delivered free to the public sector via Tech Transfer
- Fall 2026 Summit recognition
Year 1 Anchor
Scale into the anchor role for full-year influence.
- 1 Steering Committee seat, annual themes + topic input
- Co-host 2 plenary summits (Fall 2026 + Spring 2027)
- Shape the invite list for 2 closed-door sessions (Aug 2026 + Jan 2027 TRB)
- Co-develop an education module with faculty
- Research paper OR 2 briefs on sensitive areas + equity
- Full grant-output access: SS4A, WZDX, edge-case library, Digital Infrastructure
A legacy of firsts and a neutral place to convene.
Academic credibility, public-sector trust, and decades of transportation innovation. Industry funds the work, helps shape the topics, and Berkeley keeps it neutral.
First driverless car on public roads.
Smartphone-based traffic monitoring.
World's largest annotated driving-video dataset at release.
Largest traffic experiment in history.