NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto Develop In-House Chips for Automated Driving
Three major US-listed Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers—NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto—are advancing their strategies to replace third-party chips with self-developed components for advanced driving functions. Following Tesla’s precedent, these companies aim to enhance computing performance for training artificial intelligence models. NIO has completed the tapeout phase for its Shenji NX9031 system on chip (SoC), a five-nanometer processor designed for assisted and conditional autonomous driving, which will be integrated into the ET9 sedan scheduled for delivery in early 2025. Similarly, Xpeng Motors has initiated the tapeout process for its in-house chip intended to replace Nvidia’s DRIVE Orin, signaling the transition from design to manufacturing. Li Auto is currently catching up, with plans to complete the tapeout for its codenamed Schumacher chip by the end of the year. This strategic shift underscores the industry's move towards vertical integration in hardware development to optimize AI capabilities and reduce reliance on external suppliers like Nvidia.
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NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto Develop In-House Chips for Automated Driving
Three major US-listed Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers—NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto—are advancing their strategies to replace third-party chips with self-developed components for advanced driving functions. Following Tesla’s precedent, these companies aim to enhance computing performance for training artificial intelligence models. NIO has completed the tapeout phase for its Shenji NX9031 system on chip (SoC), a five-nanometer processor designed for assisted and conditional autonomous driving, which will be integrated into the ET9 sedan scheduled for delivery in early 2025. Similarly, Xpeng Motors has initiated the tapeout process for its in-house chip intended to replace Nvidia’s DRIVE Orin, signaling the transition from design to manufacturing. Li Auto is currently catching up, with plans to complete the tapeout for its codenamed Schumacher chip by the end of the year. This strategic shift underscores the industry's move towards vertical integration in hardware development to optimize AI capabilities and reduce reliance on external suppliers like Nvidia.
TechNode