Horizon Robotics

Horizon Robotics was founded in 2015 by several former Baidu employees, including Yu Kai who previously led Baidu's self-driving car division.{{Cite web |last=Lucas |first=Louise |date=27 November 2018 |title=Chinese AI chipmaker Horizon Robotics raises up to $1bn |url=https://www.ft.com/content/bea3090c-f15c-11e8-ae55-df4bf40f9d0d |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=Financial Times |archive-date=28 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128195241/https://www.ft.com/content/bea3090c-f15c-11e8-ae55-df4bf40f9d0d |url-status=live }}

The company was funded by notable investors that included Intel, Hillhouse Investment, HongShan, Yuri Milner, Sinovation Ventures and Yunfeng Capital.{{Cite news |last=Liu |first=John |date=8 October 2021 |title=China Chip Firm Horizon Robotics Eyes Moving U.S. IPO to Hong Kong |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-08/china-ai-chip-firm-horizon-robotics-said-to-eye-moving-u-s-ipo-to-hong-kong |access-date=6 July 2024 |work=Bloomberg News |language=en |archive-date=18 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118224631/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-08/china-ai-chip-firm-horizon-robotics-said-to-eye-moving-u-s-ipo-to-hong-kong |url-status=live }} Other backers include BYD, Chery and CATL.{{Cite news |last=Li |first=Pei |date=11 March 2024 |title=Intel-Backed Horizon Picks Banks for $500 Million Hong Kong IPO |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-11/intel-backed-horizon-picks-banks-for-500-million-hong-kong-ipo |access-date=6 July 2024 |work=Bloomberg News |language=en |archive-date=11 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240311114851/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-11/intel-backed-horizon-picks-banks-for-500-million-hong-kong-ipo |url-status=live }} Due to the United States New Export Controls on Advanced Computing and Semiconductors to China, Horizon Robotics attracted more interest from investors who felt it could be an alternative to Nvidia in China which had to abide with selling restrictions.{{Cite web |last=Liao |first=Rita |date=27 September 2022 |title=Investors bank on China's alternatives to Nvidia's auto chips |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/26/china-auto-chipmaker/ |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US |archive-date=17 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817145332/https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/26/china-auto-chipmaker/ |url-status=live }}

In December 2017, Horizon Robotics launched Journey 1.0, the first generation of its AI chips used in vehicles. It would help cars recognize external objects in a low power consumption manner.{{Cite web |last=Si |first=Ma |date=21 December 2017 |title=Horizon Robotics unveils AI-tailored processor |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201712/21/WS5a3b7e2ea31008cf16da2b40.html |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn |archive-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314121519/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201712/21/WS5a3b7e2ea31008cf16da2b40.html |url-status=live }}

Originally Horizon Robotics planned to hold an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States that could raise as much as $1 billion. However, in October 2021, it was reported that it changed its IPO country to Hong Kong instead. This came at a time where the Chinese government was increasing scrutiny of overseas listings.

In October 2022, Volkswagen Group invested $2.3 billion to establish a joint venture (JV) with Horizon Robotics. The JV was named Carizon and was aimed to develop in-house vehicle software for Volkswagen.{{Cite web |last=Shen |first=Jill |date=11 December 2023 |title=VW's JV to hire 300 workers with Horizon Robotics · TechNode |url=http://technode.com/2023/12/11/volkswagens-china-jv-with-horizon-robotics-to-hire-300-workers/ |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=TechNode |language=en-US |archive-date=26 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426150854/https://technode.com/2023/12/11/volkswagens-china-jv-with-horizon-robotics-to-hire-300-workers/ |url-status=live }}

At the 2023 World Internet Conference, Yu announced that the number of vehicles featuring navigate on autopilot (NoA) equipped with Horizon Robotics chips has surpassed that of Nvidia.{{Cite web |last=Strom |first=Eifeh |date=15 November 2023 |title=Horizon Robotics calls next-gen self-driving chip revolutionary |url=https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20231114PD212/horizon-robotics-navigate-on-autopilot-noa-self-driving-ic-autonomous-driving-chinese-chipmakers.html |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=DIGITIMES |language=en}} According to a report from China Money Network, Horizon Robotics controlled 49% of the Chinese self-driving chip market in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Butts |first=Dylan |date=5 December 2023 |title=Chinese chip makers plan to invest billions on R&D, production in Hong Kong |url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3243961/chinese-automotive-chip-manufacturers-plan-invest-billions-hong-kong-amid-citys-push-reindustrialise |access-date=6 July 2024 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=1 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701235435/https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3243961/chinese-automotive-chip-manufacturers-plan-invest-billions-hong-kong-amid-citys-push-reindustrialise |url-status=live }}

In March 2024, Horizon Robotics submitted its IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange expected to raise $500 million. In October 2024, the offering was priced at the top of its price range raising $696 million.{{Cite news |last=Pei |first=Li |date=2024-10-23 |title=Baillie Gifford, Norges Said to Invest in Horizon Robotics Hong Kong IPO |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-23/baillie-gifford-norges-said-to-invest-in-horizon-robotics-hong-kong-ipo |access-date=2024-10-23 |work=Bloomberg News |language=en}}

In January 2025, Horizon Robotics announced its goal of shipping over 10 million chips in 2025.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-03 |title=China's Horizon Robotics targets 10 million automotive chips in 2025 |url=https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20250102PD230/horizon-robotics-chips-2025-market-2024.html |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=DIGITIMES |language=en}}

While Horizon Robotics mainly focuses on developing AI chips used in the automobile industry, it also develops its Sunrise line of AI chips that are used in surveillance cameras and other internet-connected smart devices. It holds partnerships with Chery, Audi, SAIC Motor and SK Telecom.

The Journey 2 was released in 2019, and was the first automotive AI chip made by a Chinese company. It uses Horizon's self-developed Brain Processing Unit (BPU){{Nbsp}}2.0 architecture, and is capable of over 4 TOPS of compute performance while consuming 2 watts of power.{{Cite web |last=Tang |first=Yvonne |date=2021-06-30 |title=Li Auto supplier Horizon Robotics to launch new self-driving chip soon |url=https://cnevpost.com/2021/06/30/li-auto-supplier-horizon-robotics-to-launch-new-self-driving-chip-soon/ |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=CnEVPost |language=en-US}} It has a multicore CPU consisting of ARM Cortex-A53 cores clocked at up to 1.5GHz, 640GB/s internal bandwidth bus, {{Cite web |last=Hui |first=Jonathan |date=2023-05-22 |title=AI Chips Technology Trends & Landscape (Mobile SoC, Intel, Asian AI Chips, Low-Power Inference… |url=https://jonathan-hui.medium.com/ai-chips-technology-trends-landscape-mobile-soc-intel-asian-ai-chips-low-power-inference-4db701dbe85d |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Medium |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-10-11 |title=In the battle of three kingdoms of self-developed chips and the new battlefield of top intelligent driving, who is stronger among NIO, Xiaopeng and Li Auto? |url=https://en.eeworld.com.cn/news/qcdz/eic690555_4.html |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=en.eeworld.com.cn}}

The Journey 3 was released in September 2020. It continues to use the BPU{{Nbsp}}2.0 architecture and is fabricated on TSMC's 16nm node, now providing 5TOPS while using 2.5 watts of power. Applications include Li Auto One.

The Journey 5 uses eight ARM Cortex-A55 in its CPU for 26k DMIPS, and has a GPU capable of 128{{Nbsp}}TOPS using Horizon's Bayesian BPU architecture. Its ISP is capable of handling 16 HD cameras and supports 4x4 MIPI to support 4K cameras. It is produced on TSMC's 16nm FinFET process node.{{Cite web |last=Huang |first=T. P. |date=2023-11-26 |title=Importance of Horizon/Journey success |url=https://tphuang.substack.com/p/importance-of-horizonjourney-success |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=TP’s Substack}} It received SGS-TÜV's ISO 26262 ASIL-B automotive safety certification in June 2021.{{Cite web |last=Zheng |first=Dorothy |date=2021-07-06 |title=Horizon Robotics' AI chip with up to 128 TOPS computing power gets key certification |url=https://cnevpost.com/2021/07/06/horizon-robotics-ai-chip-with-up-to-128-tops-computing-power-gets-key-certification/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=CnEVPost |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Autonomous Driving SoC Research Report, 2024 - ResearchInChina |url=http://www.researchinchina.com/Htmls/Report/2024/75004.html#:~:text=NPU,%20the%20core%20of%20intelligent,AI%20algorithms%20flexibly%20and%20efficiently. |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=www.researchinchina.com}}

The Journey 6 generation of chips was first teased in 2023, with specs of only the top of the line 6P revealed. The full lineup of chips was announced on 25 April 2024, when more details specifications of the 6B, 6E, 6M, and 6P were revealed at the launch presentation. This generation introduces the BPU{{Nbsp}}3.0 architecture known as Nash, the use of larger ARM Cortex-78AE cores from the high-performance Cortex-A7X series which are capable of out-of-order execution, and 3D GPU visualization using ARM's Mali G78AE architecture. According to Horizon, the Nash BPU architecture was designed to handle high-parameter transformer models, and is optimized to run end-to-end architectures.{{Cite web |last=Xi |first=Wang |date=2024-04-25 |title=2024年开启量产 地平线征程6正式发布 |trans-title=Mass Production to Start in 2024, Horizon Journey 6 Officially Released |url=https://info.xcar.com.cn/202404/news_2075578_1.html |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=info.xcar.com.cn |language=zh}}{{Cite web |last=Huang |first=T. P. |date=2024-04-27 |title=Horizon Robotics unveiled Journey 6 |url=https://tphuang.substack.com/p/horizon-robotics-unveiled-journey |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=TP’s Substack}} The Journey 6 series integrates the CPU, BPU, GPU, and MCU into a single SoC, increasing performance while reducing cost, power consumption, and simplifying board design.{{Cite web |last=Huang |first=T. P. |date=2023-11-26 |title=Importance of Horizon/Journey success |url=https://tphuang.substack.com/p/importance-of-horizonjourney-success?sort=top |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=TP’s Substack}} This high degree of integration and hardware simplification allows the Journey 6 to act as a plug-and-play solution, allowing for easy hardware upgrades for automakers and users which Horizon compares to upgrading a desktop PC's graphics card.{{Cite web |first=Ashley |date=2025-04-22 |title=Horizon Journey 6P Launched: Modular Domain Controller for Upgradable In-Vehicle Computing Platform |url=https://www.pcauto.com/my/news/horizon-journey-6p-released-capable-of-disassembling-and-upgrading-the-vehicle-computing-platform-like-a-personal-computer-15609 |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=PCauto |language=en}}

The Journey 6B was announced on 25 April 2024 and is aimed at entry-level active safety ADAS solutions. Horizon Robotics said that the chip got orders from Tier 1 suppliers Bosch and Denso, along with NavInfo, Furuitech and Youjia Innovation.

The Journey 6E and 6M are positioned as cost effective solutions for highway NOA systems with some urban capabilities. It meets the AEC-Q104 standard and reduces costs and power consumption through high integration.

Initial automotive customers include SAIC, Volkswagen Group, BYD, Li Auto, GAC, Deepal, BAIC, Chery, Exeed Sterra, and Voyah, and Tier 1 customers include Bosch, Luxshare, Huaqin, and TzTek, with interest shown from Continental, Denso, Valeo, and ZF.

The Journey 6P is the most powerful chip design by Horizon Robotics to date, and is intended for high-end full-scenario NOA solutions. The chip contains 37 billion transistors and is fabricated on TSMC's 7nm, and contains a 18-core CPU capable of 410k{{Nbsp}}DMIPS, is capable of 560{{Nbsp}}TOPS from its 4 Nash BPU cores, and uses LPDDR5x{{Nbh}}8533{{Nbsp}}RAM for a total of 204{{Nbsp}}GB/s of bandwidth. It has an ISP with 24 channels capable of processing 4K{{Nbsp}}video or other sensors including up to 18MP front-facing cameras, mmWave radar and LiDAR data.

Mass production of the 6P is expected to start in the third quarter of 2025.

• Black Sesame Technologies
• Self-driving car
• Semiconductor industry in China

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