NNG Launches HUF 8 Bn R+D Investment

Hungarian navigation software leader NNG announces a state-backed next-generation AI navigation program, reinforcing Budapest's position as a center for automotive software innovation.

Twenty years ago, NNG was founded in Budapest in 2004 as an independent navigation software start up with a single product. Today, it's technology runs in 11 of the world's 14 largest automotive groups, across 190+ countries, in tens of millions of vehicles. NNG has established itself as one of Europe's most globally competitive technology companies, the company says in a statement.

Building on this foundation, NNG is launching a three-year research & development program for its next-generation intelligent navigation solutions, with Hungarian state support. The development project will bring voice-controlled navigation driven by artificial intelligence, augmented reality guidance overlaid on live camera feed, real-time traffic sign recognition, and a cloud-based automated mapping platform, integrated into a single, coherent system. It will be delivered by a team of researchers and engineers and will result in at least two patents registered in Hungary.

The investment that costs HUF 8 billion and promises to create dozens of jobs is supported by Hungarian taxpayers with HUF 1.8 billion through a government program.

As NNG CEO Gavin Donkin put it, "this program represents a significant step forward for NNG and for Hungary's role in the future of technology. We are committed to building world-class AI navigation technology here in Budapest, where we have always been rooted. The talent, the partnerships, and the ambition are all here. With this investment, we are not just developing a product, we are building a platform that will power the next generation of intelligent vehicles across the world."

This program builds on NNG's long-standing commitment to research and innovation in Hungary. The company has completed ten domestic R&D projects – three of them supported by NKFIH – and is currently active in four EU HORIZON research consortia. NNG also works alongside Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis on joint development programs, and maintains active academic partnerships with BME, Óbudai Egyetem, and ELTE.

The three-year program will directly support Hungary's broader economic development goals, generating significant GDP contribution, creating highly-skilled engineering employment in Budapest, and strengthening Hungary's position as a center for automotive AI innovation. With NNG already serving SAIC, the largest Chinese automotive exporter into Europe, the program also deepens the commercial relationship between Hungarian technology and the Chinese automotive market, turning Budapest-developed innovation into export revenue at global scale.