Cerence has renewed its partnership with Ford, and will now be delivering conversational AI and voice recognition capabilities for Ford SYNC 4. The latest iteration of the in-car infotainment platform was first unveiled back in November, and will make its debut in new Ford vehicles later in the year.

Ford and Cerence have been collaborating since 2005, when Cerence was still under the Nuance Communications umbrella. That partnership eventually led to the development of the first Ford SYNC platform two years later.

“Ford SYNC was the first of its kind and has paved the way for industry and consumer adoption of voice-powered controls in the car,” said Cerence CEO Sanjay Dhawan. “Cerence looks forward to the road ahead as Ford SYNC 4 rolls out to the market.”  

Drivers will be able to use Ford SYNC to use their voice to control various aspects of the in-car experience, including navigation and entertainment systems. The platform can understand 25 different languages, and is compatible with Waze, Amazon Alexa, and other connected apps and services.

Ford is one of several automotive companies that has maintained its relationship with Cerence since the company spun off from Nuance. Mercedes-Benz and Audi have both continued to feature Cerence technology in their respective in-car AI assistants.