Horizon launches latest chip to take on Mobileye and Nvidia

Horizon Robotics unveiled its latest auto-grade chip Journey 5 last Thursday, which marks the latest effort of the six-year-old Chinese chipmaker to take on global rivals.

The chip, which can process 128 tera operations per second, is designed for high-level autonomous driving, said founder and CEO Yu Kai.

As vehicles are growing into mobile computers on wheels, chips are becoming engines that determine vehicles’ performance. The number of operations it can process is a crucial index of a chip.

Eight Chinese carmakers including Great Wall Motors, SAIC Motor, Changan and Li Auto have shown their interest in the Journey 5 chip.

As the largest market for smart electric vehicles, China has become the place where international chip makers introduce their latest products.

The first model sporting Nvidia Orin will hit the market in China in 2022. So does the first model equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride.

"So we are nervous and excited. It is like a race, but it is not a local race in Beijing or Shanghai. It is a global race, and we would like to become No 1," said Yu.

Zhang Xiang, an independent analyst, said the Journey 5 chip may turn out to be the starting point for Horizon to overtake international rivals including Nvidia and Mobileye.

Source: Horizon.com, China Daily 

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