Synera and McKinsey on scaling AI in R&D

What it takes to move from pilot to production with agentic AI in engineering

This session was recorded live at Automotive Masterminds 2026, a conference bringing together decision-makers from across the automotive value chain. Dr. Marc Florian Uth from Synera and Dr. Nils Patschke from McKinsey take the stage together to address a challenge most CTOs in the room were already weighing: how to move from a successful AI pilot to scaled impact across R&D functions. They draw on a survey of 100 R&D leaders and McKinsey's ongoing work with companies in active AI transformation, covering both the technology side and the organizational side.

Key Takeaways

• See how a design-to-cost team of agents runs in production at automotive OEMs, using real CAD, simulation, and costing tools
• Learn what McKinsey's research identifies as the four traits shared by companies that are seeing AI impact at scale across functions
• Understand why guardrails increase AI adoption sixfold and how to close the gap between leadership and employee readiness
• Hear what it takes organizationally to move from a first proof of value to the next use case

Who is the webinar for?

• CTO and VP Engineering, automotive OEM or tier one supplier: Responsible for R&D lead time and competitive positioning, evaluating where agentic AI fits in the engineering organization
• Head of digital transformation, automotive: Leading or sponsoring AI transformation programs and looking for evidence of what scaled impact actually requires
• Engineering team lead, design or cost engineering: Running or overseeing the workflows — design-to-cost, RFQ-to-quote — where Synera's use cases are already live