The software company PTC announced that it has partnered with Microsoft and Volkswagen Group to develop a generative artificial intelligence copilot based on the PTC Codebeamer application lifecycle management solution. Codebeamer Copilot will support software development in physical products. It enables software engineers to more efficiently create, manage, test, validate and release product requirements.

The development of Codebeamer Copilot builds on Volkswagen's adoption of Codebeamer to support software development across brands and vehicle projects. PTC and Volkswagen Group partnered with Microsoft to extend the value of the application lifecycle management solution. They embedded generative AI with Microsoft Azure AI capabilities.

AI assists Volkswagen with creation of new specifications and test cases 

“By having Microsoft Azure AI in the Codebeamer software, it can assist us with creating new specifications and test cases,” says Robert Kattner, Head of IT Engineering at Volkswagen Group. “It can also improve the quality of our requirements by removing duplicates and checking against existing quality standards. And furthermore, it can help our teams to import requirements references from older IT systems. It will drive our productivity gains by reducing the time to import, review, and write requirements. In a nutshell, our engineers will do their work more efficiently.”

Volkswagen demonstrates real-world application of Copilot 

“We apply generative AI to help customers solve problems and capitalize on market opportunities, like the efficient development of software-defined vehicles,” explains Kevin Wrenn, Chief Product Officer, PTC. “Our collaboration with Volkswagen Group and Microsoft on Codebeamer Copilot gives us the best of both worlds: an industry-leading manufacturer in Volkswagen Group that demonstrates how these solutions apply in a real-world context, and a partner in Microsoft that is pushing the envelope on generative AI and bringing state-of-the-art technology to the market.”

Generative AI to simplify and streamline complex processes 

“The manufacturing sector holds tremendous opportunities for generative AI use cases, and we’re thrilled to support this collaboration with PTC and Volkswagen Group, both leaders in the industry,” adds Dayan Rodriguez, corporate vice president, Manufacturing & Mobility, Microsoft. “Codebeamer Copilot is a meaningful example of how generative AI can make a longstanding, complex process like product development simpler and more efficient.” Codebeamer Copilot is expected to release as a beta to select PTC customers in early 2025.