On 19 May 2026, the Eclipse Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) community held its first-ever meetup in India, hosted by Bosch Global Software Technologies in Bengaluru. What began as a conversation just a few months earlier quickly evolved into a landmark community event, demonstrating the extraordinary enthusiasm for software-defined vehicles across the Indian automotive ecosystem.

Sometimes, community momentum creates opportunities that are impossible to ignore. Earlier this year, conversations began within the Eclipse Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) community about bringing an SDV meetup to India. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Within just four weeks, almost 200 people expressed interest in attending a community event dedicated to software-defined vehicles.

That enthusiasm made one thing clear: India was ready for its first Eclipse SDV community meetup.

Thanks to the dedication of many people – including Deepa Velankar, Uma N, Björn Reistel, colleagues from Bosch Global Software Technologies, and numerous community members – we transformed that idea into reality in an exceptionally short timeframe. Hosted at the Bosch Global Software Technologies campus in Bengaluru, the event brought together a vibrant and highly engaged audience from across the automotive and software ecosystems.

An SDV community ready to engage

Organising a community event in just four weeks would normally be considered ambitious. When Deepa first suggested hosting an SDV community meetup in India at the end of January, and the plans only became truly concrete in April, I honestly thought the timeline was unrealistic. With just four weeks left to organise everything, my initial reaction was simple: there was no way we could pull it off in time.

Deepa’s response was equally simple: “Let’s do it anyway.”

Looking back, I am very glad she did.

The result exceeded all expectations. Around 90 participants joined us in person, with another 40 attending online, making it the largest Eclipse SDV community meetup we have organised so far. More importantly, the event generated lively discussions, thoughtful questions, and concrete ideas for future collaboration.

Bharat SDV – a local approach to a global transformation

Having visited India many times, this meetup provided me with a new perspective on the country’s automotive industry and its future direction.

One message stood out clearly throughout the day: India is not simply preparing to adopt software-defined vehicles; it has a need and interest to define what SDV means to the Indian market.

Several key themes emerged from the discussions:

• India is ready to become another blueprint for software-defined vehicles.
• SDV solutions cannot simply be imported from other markets; they must address India’s unique requirements and realities.
• The Indian SDV ecosystem needs a neutral space where organisations can collaborate, discuss challenges, and build shared solutions.

These points were articulated particularly well during presentations and discussions around what some participants referred to as the “Bharat SDV” vision – a distinctly Indian approach to software-defined vehicles that reflects local market needs, regulations, customer expectations, and mobility patterns.

The conversations demonstrated a strong appetite for collaboration across companies and disciplines. There is already interest from multiple organisations in helping to shape and advance this initiative, and we look forward to supporting those efforts as the community continues to grow.

Building the foundation for collaboration

One of the most encouraging outcomes of the meetup was the recognition that open collaboration will be essential for the future of SDVs in India.

Software-defined vehicles represent a transformation that extends beyond individual products or companies. Success requires cooperation across software platforms, vehicle architectures, safety requirements, tooling, and standards. Community-driven initiatives provide an important environment where experts can exchange ideas openly and work together on shared challenges.

The discussions in Bengaluru showed that the foundation for such collaboration already exists. What is needed now is continued engagement and opportunities for the community to come together.

Thank you to the community

Events like this are only possible because of the people who contribute their time, energy, and expertise.

A sincere thank you to Bosch Global Software Technologies for hosting the event, to all speakers and organisers who helped bring it to life, and to every participant who joined us in person or online. The turnout, the quality of the discussions, and the enthusiasm in the room demonstrated that there is tremendous momentum for software-defined vehicles in India.

This meetup was a first step, not a final destination. Judging by the conversations that took place in Bengaluru, there is much more to come.

Photos by Bosch Global Software Technologies