The BMW Group Technology Office USA is celebrating 25 years in Silicon Valley with the premiere of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse Concept in North America.
Global network
For 25 years, the BMW Group Technology Office USA has been part of the BMW Group's global network of technology offices, which represent an important part of the innovation approach and are strategically located at important technology hotspots around the world. In addition to Silicon Valley and Munich, this also includes Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tel Aviv and Tokyo.
The Mountain View Tech Office was the BMW Group's first technology research and development location outside Munich when it opened in Silicon Valley in 1998. Originally based in Palo Alto, the office moved to its current location in Mountain View in 2011.
Innovative environment
The immediate proximity to our partners offers a unique environment to conduct practical research on new innovations. From the outset, our multidisciplinary teams focused on the intersection of emerging technologies, user-oriented thinking and product design. Developments from the Tech Office in recent years range from the initial idea of reducing the number of displays and buttons to the implementation of automated driving. Over the past 25 years, the location has made a significant contribution to the BMW Group's major product innovations. Four examples:
• 2002: Development of a head-up display in Ralf Schumacher's helmet for new communication channels and greater safety in Formula One: > Learn more
• 2010: Innovative vehicle integration for iPhone and iPod Touch. > Learn more
• 2020: BMW is the first car manufacturer to allow its customers to use the iPhone as a fully digital vehicle key to open, lock and drive the vehicle. > Learn more
• 2023: Joint research by the BMW Group and Meta's Reality Labs to link external Extended Reality (XR) devices with the digital vehicle ecosystem. > Learn more
The event
For the celebrations, Tech Office Mountain View opened its doors for the first time to media, partners and stakeholders, who had the opportunity to dive into the virtual world in workshops and participate in mixed reality driving experiences at Levi's Stadium. The celebration was highlighted by the North American debut of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse design concept and a panel discussion entitled “Humanizing Technology,” with insights from BMW Group Member of the Board of Management, Development, Frank Weber. Weber was joined by Neuroscientist & Technologist Poppy Crum, Head of Trust & Safety, AI Strategy, Product Management & ML Operations at Airbnb, Naba Banerjee, and Head of Product at Meta for Work Micah Collins. The conversation was moderated by renowned technology expert, David Pogue.
