January 07, 2021

By Kate Hickman

We can all agree that 2020 was quite the year, and there are plenty of reasons to be excited to turn the corner to 2021. But for our team at Cerence, despite the challenges we faced, 2020 was a year of innovation and growth, with a multitude of new product introductions, significant customer wins, and technological breakthroughs.

As we look to 2021, these core pillars – innovation, customer focus, and killer tech – will continue to drive us. On that note, what better group than the recipients of our first annual CEO Awards to share what they’re most excited about for the coming year, and what they think will be the driving forces for Cerence and the mobility industry at large. Read on for perspectives from our talented global team:   

“The recognition of more abstract commands and questions that we’ve seen recently is revolutionary. I look forward to seeing natural language understanding continue to evolve – and I'd like to see more of it even outside of cars.” – Sergej, Global Technology Solutions  

“Technological advancements within the automotive and mobile phone sector are advancing at an incredible rate. It is amazing to see how quickly OEMs and consumers are adopting new technology and how useful it has become. To think we have cars that can drive themselves, technology that can detect our eye motions and tell us what a building is outside of the car, and the ability to  order anything by voice in the car is jaw dropping. The expansion and adoption of cloud intelligence, machine learning, and IoT tech is mind blowing and will only get better with time. I cannot imagine what type of tech will exist in three years.” – Michael, HR 

“I’m excited for Cerence innovation, particularly for cloud powered-automotive solutions. With 5G, we’ll be able to actualize many solutions that otherwise wouldn't be possible in automotive space.” – Hatice, Core Products 

“While the technology in electric vehicles is exciting for sure, I find the challenges in creating an infrastructure for e-mobility equally interesting. In the coming years, will we still use cars to get from A to B, and if so, how can AI support us beyond navigation or autonomous driving?” – David, R&D 

“I look forward to Cerence building the world’s smartest, fastest and most exciting voice assistants that define state-of the-art for the in-car experience.” – Sushil, Global Technology Solutions 

“I’m most excited that every day we get closer to have The Jetsons cars! But being serious, one of the things I’m most proud of is that we are helping the automotive industry become more accessible to people with special needs, to those that have language challenges but need to communicate, and to those that travel and rely on language. I look forward to continuing to serve drivers and passengers to help them get the full experience out of their trip.” – Ana, R&D 


Autonomous cars, EVs, and incredible mobility experiences driven by innovative new technologies. Looks like 2021 is poised to be an exciting year for the Cerence team and the mobility industry at large. We can’t wait to see what’s next! 

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