Indy Autonomous Challenge Runs World’s First Multicar Autonomous Race

The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) made history at CES 2025 with the world’s first successful completion of a multicar autonomous race.

Held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the event marked a major milestone in the evolution of physical AI and autonomous racing, with four IAC AV-24 fully autonomous race cars piloted by AI drivers from top global university teams competing head-to-head in a 20-lap exhibition race.

To top it off, the race ended in a thrilling side-by-side photo finish, with UNIMORE Racing crossing the finish line less than three-tenths of a second faster than Cavalier Autonomous Racing.

The multicar exhibition race not only showcased impressive advancements in AI driver capabilities, but also highlighted how the IAC is advancing technology to improve the safety of high-speed autonomy, the event noted in a press release. Four autonomous race cars completed a full race with multiple overtakes and no accidents, demonstrating how autonomous systems can navigate extreme speeds while also safely managing complex multi-agent interactions in real time.

“Since our first race in 2021, the IAC and our university teams have been making history with the world’s fastest autonomous race cars, from setting speed records to introducing the world to head-to-head autonomous racing,” said Paul Mitchell, president and CEO, Indy Autonomous Challenge. “But our goal has always been multi-agent racing, so being the first to have all our AI drivers complete a race and do so with five overtakes, no accidents and a nose-to-nose finish is a testament to the progress of the IAC’s global ecosystem of highly talented university researchers, industry partners and government supporters.”

At CES 2025, the IAC featured a progressive, tiered competition format designed to allow teams at varying levels to compete and showcase their AI driver development. Nine university teams competed in three race events.

The Autonomous Tiger Racing – Auburn University team claimed victory in the Tier 1 single-car time trials with a fastest lap average of 163.6 mph. The IU Luddy – Indiana University’s team followed with a fastest lap average of 158 mph and the Caltech Autonomous Systems and Technologies Racer team – California Institute of Technology reached a 144.3 mph average.

Purdue AI Racing – Purdue University and AI Racing Tech – University of California, Berkeley, with University of Hawai’i, University of California, San Diego, and Carnegie Mellon University competed in the Tier 2 passing competition—a two-car passing competition challenging teams to demonstrate strategic racing and AI adaptability in close-quarter scenarios. AI Racing Tech edged out Purdue AI Racing by completing a 162 mph overtake in the final seconds of the last passing round.

The day culminated with the historic Tier 3 multi-car exhibition race, where four autonomous race cars: UNIMORE Racing – University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), Cavalier Autonomous Racing – University of Virginia, PoliMOVE-MSU – Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Michigan State University, with University of Alabama and KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea), competed in an open format 20-lap race including five overtakes.

The multicar race also demonstrated the first use of autonomous push-to-pass, where the AI drivers had to strategically determine when to use a 30-second 25-mph boost during the race.

Despite challenging weather conditions with 30-mph wind gusts, the competition provided several exciting highlights showcasing the ability of AI drivers to manage high speeds, head-to-head passing and multi-agent racing. All teams finished their race events with no crashes.

Also notably, the winning teams in the time trials and passing competition events were both led by female team managers—Autonomous Tiger Racing by Stephanie Meyer and AI Racing Tech by C.K. Wolfe.

In addition to the races, the IAC had a major presence at CES 2025, providing attendees with an up-close look at the IAC’s vision for the future of autonomous systems. The IAC’s display in the West Hall lobby featured the IAC AV-24, the world’s fastest autonomous race car, offering attendees a glimpse into the high-performance capabilities of AI-driven vehicles.