As the automotive industry steadily transitions toward smarter and electric vehicles, the significance of intelligent driving chips has surged, positioning them as the backbone of this transformative movementEnvisioned as the "brain" of smart cars, these chips are integral in perceiving the surroundings, making decisions, and executing control tasksIn recent years, the market for intelligent driving chips has grown increasingly competitive, with numerous companies striving to carve a niche in this promising fieldBlack Sesame Technology and Horizon Robotics have emerged as notable players in this dynamic landscape.

However, the situation surrounding Black Sesame's initial public offering, which saw a rapid decline in stock prices, adds an element of uncertainty to the already fierce competition, prompting deeper reflections on the future trajectories of both companies.

The Landscape of Opportunities and Challenges in Intelligent Driving

The intelligent driving segment is undergoing rapid advancements, evolving from Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to fully automated driving (AD). This evolution indicates an increase in the vehicles' smart capabilitiesAccording to market research, the global intelligent driving vehicle market has consistently expanded over recent years and is projected to continue this growth at a vigorous pace, largely due to the advancements in intelligent driving chips.

Generally, intelligent driving chips can be classified into several categories, including GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), and ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). Notably, ASICs have become the mainstream choice, as they are tailored for specific applications, thereby achieving an optimal balance of power consumption, performance, and costNVIDIA, noted for its robust technical foundation in GPUs, commands a significant share of this market, with its products being widely adopted in high-end smart vehicles

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Tech giants like Intel and Qualcomm have also made their entry into the intelligent driving chip domain through acquisitions, escalating competitive tensions.

With the advancement in autonomous driving levels, the computational requirements for chips have intensifiedFor instance, Level 3 and higher levels of automated driving necessitate chips capable of performing hundreds to thousands of TOPS (trillions of operations per second). To meet these demands, various chip manufacturers are continually innovating to enhance chip performanceCurrent data reveals that NVIDIA's Thor series chips offer between 1000 to 275 TOPS, while the Orin-X provides 254 TOPSMeanwhile, Mobileye's EyeQ Ultra achieves 176 TOPS, EyeQ6H reaches 45 TOPS, and EyeQ5H yields 24 TOPSQualcomm's SA8650P hits 100 TOPS, with similar figures for other modelsFurthermore, Tesla's HW3.0 claims 144 TOPS while the upcoming HW4.0 is expected to surpass 720 TOPS.

Overall, as the intelligent driving industry rapidly develops, the computational capabilities of chips produced by various automakers and driving service providers are expanding in tandem.

Moreover, to enhance system reliability and reduce costs, there is a noticeable trend toward greater integration of intelligent driving chips, resulting in closer collaboration with software componentsThe push for chip integration aims to streamline the inclusion of multiple functional modules into a single chip, minimizing external circuit complexity while boosting overall system performance.

Consequently, the developmental trajectory of intelligent driving chips increasingly relies on robust software supportThe trend of software-defined vehicles necessitates the seamless integration of chips and software, requiring chip manufacturers to continually optimize software algorithms to elevate chip intelligence.

A Clash of Titans: The Rise and Struggles of Black Sesame and Horizon

Both Black Sesame Technology and Horizon Robotics rose to prominence around the same timeframe within the field of artificial intelligence chips and algorithm services, establishing themselves as influential players in the domestic smart vehicle landscape.

On the technology front, there exists a notable parity between the two entities

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Founded in 2016, Black Sesame has achieved remarkable milestones in the intelligent driving chip sector with its Huashan series chips demonstrating significant technical performanceNotably, the Huashan 2 A1000 chip boasts a computation rate of 58 TOPS, offering an excellent cost-performance ratio in the lower to mid-tier intelligent driving chip market.

Concurrently, Horizon has similarly positioned itself as a pioneer in domestic intelligent driving solutions around the same time, producing the Changcheng series of chips which leverage their proprietary Brain Processing Unit (BPU) architecture for effective handling of deep learning tasksThe Changcheng 5 chip leads with a computation power of 128 TOPS, underscoring Horizon's competitive standing within the industry.

In terms of market share and influence, the competition remains fiercely contestedHorizon enjoys a more substantial market share compared to Black Sesame, bolstered by numerous partnerships with well-known automotive manufacturers that support its product adoption and integrationFor instance, Horizon maintains close relations with prominent players such as Li Auto and has teamed up with major automotive brands including Volkswagen, BYD, and NIO to reinforce technological collaborationMeanwhile, Black Sesame's partnerships include numerous car manufacturers such as BYD, Dongfeng, Geely, FAW, and JAC, as well as relationships with several Tier 1 suppliers, demonstrating a diverse technological collaboration base.

Despite Black Sesame's active endeavors to penetrate the market, it still trails Horizon in brand recognition and client network.

Moreover, differing strategies further highlight the distinctions between Black Sesame and HorizonThe former adopts a broader approach, covering a range of market segments, whereas the latter appears more focused on high, medium, and low-end marketsHorizon emphasizes deep collaborations with automotive manufacturers to enhance product competitiveness, while Black Sesame aims to attract clients through a compelling price-performance mix

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Nonetheless, Black Sesame is now amplifying its R&D efforts, gradually approaching high-end market segments.

Given the fiercely competitive market environment, achieving rapid advancement for Black Sesame remains a challenging endeavor.

Industry Dynamics Amidst the New War of Intelligent Driving

The overall trend within the industry shows that with domestic automotive titan BYD entering the intelligent driving arena, intelligent driving in homegrown electric vehicles has evolved from a supplementary feature to a mandatory aspectDomestic consumers have become more discerning in distinguishing between merely functional intelligent driving capabilities and those that truly enhance their driving experience, with practical usability and safety emerging as the key metrics by which users evaluate automakers’ intelligent driving offeringsConsequently, this creates a heightened atmosphere of competition between companies as they aim to optimize technology, user experience, and commercial strategies.

In the realm of technological innovation, advancements in end-to-end large-model technologies, multimodal large-model applications, and intelligent chassis integration are rapidly converging, driving intelligent driving toward unprecedented levelsFor instance, utilizing end-to-end large-model techniques allows for direct correlations to be established between sensor inputs—such as cameras and LiDAR—and vehicle control signals (like steering and braking), significantly enhancing the coherence of intelligent driving decisions while adapting to various unexpected scenarios.

Multimodal large models can significantly boost contextual understanding of the driving environment, enhancing detection accuracy across various weather conditions through complementary sensing technologies and V2X infrastructure, thereby facilitating optimal traffic flow managementSupport from intelligent chassis technologies enables coordinated dynamic control of the vehicle's chassis, facilitating rapid responses and self-adjusting dynamics.

Undeniably, new technologies are improving and refining the traditional intelligent driving experience, swiftly approaching Level 3+ autonomous driving standards while forging a new trend in mobility

As a consequence, the domestic demand for high-performance chips continues to escalate alongside an increasing presence from international chip powerhouses such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm, alongside an influx of emerging start-ups that will intensify competition within the intelligent driving chip market.

In the medium to long term, the intelligent driving chip market is likely to experience accelerated consolidation, leading to an oligopolistic structure as companies collaborate tightly due to shared development costsIn the intermediate phase, rising market rivalries could trigger a wave of integration, where weaker players or those with minimal market presence may face elimination or acquisitionAs leading figures in the industry, both Black Sesame and Horizon could pursue acquisition strategies to expand their operational scale and technological prowessConcurrently, automotive manufacturers may forge closer ties with a select few chip manufacturers to stabilize costs and supply chain resiliency, further catalyzing industry consolidation.

From a long-term perspective, the progression of the intelligent driving chip market hinges on cohesive collaborations among chip manufacturers, automotive companies, and software developersWith advancements in intelligent driving technologies, vehicles will achieve higher levels of automation, leading to increasingly complex chip performance and functionality requirementsA single company will find it challenging to dominate all sectors, thus collaborative efforts will likely shape the future market, fostering a win-win scenario among various enterprises, including Black Sesame and Horizon, as they collectively drive the evolution and application of intelligent driving chip technologies.

In conclusion, despite both Black Sesame and Horizon securing a leading position within the industry, significant uncertainties remain regarding who will ultimately triumph in this intense war for dominance in intelligent driving

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