Specialist
Former business development manager at Beijing Horizon Robotics Technology Co Ltd
Agenda
- Automotive-grade AI chip and high-end SoC (system on a chip) demand, trends, plus domestic and foreign auto manufacturers’ mainstream solutions and suppliers
- Horizon Robotics’ Journey series – chip design, algorithm, computing power, power consumption, product iteration and technology development directions
- Horizon Robotics, BlackSesame, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Mobileye, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Huawei – market positioning, competitive landscape, advantages and disadvantages
- Horizon Robotics’ AI chips for pre-installation and post-installation, shipment volume, order growth trends, client profile, plus cooperation model with auto manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers
- Auto manufacturers’ automotive-grade AI chip procurement process and core considerations
Questions
1.
From the perspective of the vehicle architecture, in which fields are automotive-grade AI chips demanded? What are auto manufacturers’ basic requirements for AI chips’ computing power, performance and costs?
2.
Just to reconfirm, did you mean Horizon Robotics failed to pass the functional safety evaluation?
3.
Journey 5 has ensured chip-grade functional safety with stronger computing power. Will the former clients who were developing system-grade solutions switch to Journey 5?
4.
We haven’t seen Black Sesame’s mass-produced chip yet, but you mentioned that its products seem better than Horizon Robotics’. Can you analyse further?
5.
About market demand, what is the current annual production of automobiles? What classes of vehicles are equipped with automotive-grade AI chips? How has the chip demand of in-cabin and ADAS segments changed in the past few years? How big will the market be in the future?
6.
Why do you hold a pessimistic outlook of Horizon Robotics’ in-cabin AI chips?
7.
For manufacturers of vehicles priced at RMB 80,000-200,000 and manufacturers of higher-end and top tier vehicles, how much are they willing to pay for ADAS AI chips to be applied outside the cabins? What are their requirements for the costs, computing power and performances of these chips?
8.
You earlier mentioned the concept of equivalent computing power and said Horizon Robotics claims that its chips for vehicles with L1.5 to L2 automated driving systems have a computing power of 4-5 TOPS but its actual power is poorer than that. Could you compare Horizon Robotics with Bosch and Mobileye in terms of chip computing power and performance? Do auto manufacturers favour chip manufacturers such as Horizon
Robotics which offers cheaper chips with inferior performance?
9.
Could you brief us on the trade volume dynamics of the major manufacturers of in-cabin and out-of-cabin chips? Which of them exhibit the strongest business growth momentum?
10.
It is reported that by the end of 2020, Mobileye sold a total of 73.3 million chips, which have been installed in more than 70 million vehicles. Mobileye takes up about 70% of the market share in terms of ADAS and L2+ autonomous driving solutions. How can other domestic chip manufacturers gradually increase their market share in the ADAS sector?
11.
Horizon Robotics launched Journey 2 in August 2019, Journey 3 in September 2020 and its Journey 5 announced successful tape-out on 9 May 2021. Actually, it has achieved very rapid product iteration. Based on its technology roadmap, will it catch up with top suppliers in the international market?
12.
Could you predict the annual shipment volume of chips produced by domestic automotive-grade AI chip manufacturers in the Chinese market?
