The Rise of the Virtual Twin: How AI and Digital Twins are Revolutionizing Industry
Industrial AI, digital twins, and advanced simulation technologies are rapidly transforming how companies design, optimize, and deploy products and processes. This isn’t just about incremental improvements; it’s a fundamental shift towards a future where physical systems are mirrored and perfected in the digital realm before ever being built. The convergence of these technologies is accelerating innovation across diverse sectors, from automotive and aerospace to life sciences and food production.
NVIDIA and Dassault Systèmes: A Powerful Partnership
A key driver of this revolution is the collaboration between NVIDIA and Dassault Systèmes. Their partnership integrates Dassault Systèmes’ Virtual Twin platforms with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing, AI physics open models, and Omniverse libraries. This synergy allows designers and engineers to leverage virtual twins – trained on physics-based world models – to innovate faster and deliver more sustainable products. Dassault Systèmes’ SIMULIA software now utilizes NVIDIA CUDA-X and AI physics libraries for AI-based virtual twin physics behavior, enabling accurate and instant prediction of simulation outcomes.
Building Gigawatt-Scale AI Factories
The impact extends beyond product design. NVIDIA is adopting Dassault Systèmes’ model-based systems engineering technologies to accelerate the design and deployment of gigawatt-scale AI factories. Conversely, Dassault Systèmes will deploy NVIDIA-powered AI factories on three continents through its OUTSCALE sovereign cloud, ensuring data residency and security for its customers.
Real-World Applications: From Cars to Cheese
The practical applications of this technology are already becoming apparent across a wide range of industries.
Automotive Innovation with Lucid Motors
Lucid Motors is combining simulation, AI physics, and digital twin technology with Dassault Systèmes’ tools to accelerate innovation in electric vehicles. This allows for faster iteration and optimization of vehicle and powertrain designs.
Accelerating Discovery in Life Sciences
In the life sciences, scientists are utilizing virtual twins, science-validated world models from Dassault Systèmes, and the NVIDIA BioNeMo platform to speed up molecule and materials discovery, therapeutics design, and sustainable food development. This represents a significant leap forward in the ability to tackle complex biological challenges.
The Bel Group and the Future of Food
Even the food industry is being transformed. The Bel Group is leveraging technologies from Dassault Systèmes, supported by NVIDIA, to accelerate the development of healthier and more sustainable food options. They are using industry world models to study food proteins, creating non-dairy alternatives to complement their existing cheese products like Babybel. High-resolution virtual twins enable faster and more efficient research outcomes.
Industrial Automation and Aerospace Advancements
Omron is employing virtual twins and physical AI to design and deploy automation technology with greater confidence, driving the shift towards digitally validated production. Researchers at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research are using virtual twins and AI companions powered by Dassault Systèmes’ Industry World Models and NVIDIA Nemotron open models to accelerate the design, testing, and certification of aircraft.
Learning From the Real World: Physics-Based World Models
Dassault Systèmes’ physics-based Industry World Models are trained with extensive knowledge in fields like biology, physics, and material sciences. This allows for accurate simulations of real-world environments and scenarios, enabling teams to test operations end-to-end – from supply chains to retail shelves – before real-world deployment. These models support workflows ranging from DNA sequencing to strengthening materials used in vehicle manufacturing.
The Power of Virtual Twins
As Pascal Daloz, CEO of Dassault Systemes, stated, “Knowledge is encoded in the living world. With our virtual twins, we are learning from life and are also understanding it in order to replicate it and scale it.”
Gain Involved: NVIDIA GTC 2026
Explore the future of industrial and physical AI at NVIDIA GTC, taking place March 16-19. Key highlights include:
- An industrial AI agenda with hands-on sessions, customer stories, and live demos.
- A dedicated session on OpenUSD for physical AI simulation, alongside a comprehensive schedule of OpenUSD learning sessions.
- A presence from Dassault Systèmes in the industrial AI and robotics pavilion, with a presentation from Florence Hu-Aubigny, executive vice president of R&D.
- A developer community livestream on March 18, offering direct access to NVIDIA engineers.
Discover how to build industrial and physical AI applications by attending specialized sessions at GTC.
FAQ
What is a digital twin? A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical object or system, allowing for simulation, analysis, and optimization.
What is NVIDIA Omniverse? NVIDIA Omniverse is a platform for 3D design collaboration and simulation.
What are AI factories? AI factories are infrastructure designed to build and deploy AI applications at scale.
What is OpenUSD? OpenUSD is a universal scene description format that enables interoperability between 3D applications.
