LG Electronics and Switzerland’s Luxoft announced Wednesday they will set up an in-vehicle infotainment joint venture in Santa Clara, California, in the first half of 2020.

The partnership deal was signed by LG Electronics Chief Technology Officer Park Il-pyung and Luxoft CEO Dmitry Loschinin on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. They vowed to strive for innovations in the intelligent mobility field.

The JV, whose name or ownership ratio will be decided later, will develop digital cockpit and rear-seat entertainment systems based on LG’s webOS Auto platform.

WebOS Auto is a Linux-based open-source in-vehicle infotainment platform that provides system on chip and cloud service technologies optimal for a connected car.

An LG official said that the JV with the Swiss software powerhouse is an indicator of the webOS Auto platform’s potential.

Luxoft is an information technology provider for European automakers, which could help LG expand its presence in the wider automotive services market.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)