SemiDrive to supply EV cockpit chips to European carmaker as Chinese firms go global
Chinese automotive chip firm SemiDrive will start supplying its cockpit system-on-a-chip (SoC) to an undisclosed European carmaker late next year, marking its first collaboration on the continent to push for global sales, a senior executive said.
Advertisement
The chips would be used in several of the carmaker's models including sedans and SUVs produced and sold in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, general manager Eugene Wang said. The vehicles were expected to feature its X9 SoC, which integrates high-performance CPUs, GPUs, AI accelerators and video processors designed for advanced cockpit applications, he added.
'It will be the first time we supply our chips to foreign OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] in their mass-produced vehicles overseas,' Wang said on the sidelines of the four-day International Automotive & Supply Chain Expo in Hong Kong. 'Striving to be a top global chip supplier, we need to expand from the China market to the global market.'
SemiDrive, founded in 2018, specialises in developing high-performance automotive-grade chips for smart cockpits and microcontroller units (MCUs). SAIC Motor, Sequoia Capital, Walden International and Matrix Partners participated in its fundraisings since 2019. The firm is based in Nanjing in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
It has produced four chip series to date, including the X9, the smart-driving chip V9, the central-gateway chip G9 and the high-performance MCU E3. The firm has supplied more than 8 million chips since 2021, used in more than 100 models produced by Chery Auto, Chang'an Auto, SAIC Motor, GAC, BAIC and Li Auto, Wang said.
Advertisement
Fewer than 10 per cent of these chips were used in vehicles bound for export markets, Wang said. As such, the tie-up with the European carmaker represented a significant milestone in its global expansion plans as the company aims to 'connect with foreign carmakers and reach a bigger marketplace', he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
20 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese satellite achieves 5 times Starlink speed with 2-watt laser from 36,000km orbit
Imagine beaming a HD movie from Shanghai to Los Angeles – crossing three Pacific widths – in less than five seconds using just a night light. This may sound like fantasy because Starlink , operating just hundreds of kilometres above Earth, maxes out at a couple of Mbps. But from a secret satellite parked in stationary orbit more than 60 times higher, a team of Chinese scientists has used a 2-watt laser – dim as a candle – to push data through turbulent skies to Earth at 1Gbps, five times faster than Starlink. Satellite laser downlinks are fast but they face a foe: atmospheric turbulence. It scatters light into extremely weak and fuzzy patches hundreds of metres wide by ground arrival. Previous attempts by researchers from around the world have used adaptive optics (AO) to sharpen distorted light or mode diversity reception (MDR) to capture scattered signals – but neither sufficed alone under strong turbulence. Network and satellite data exchange over planet earth in space 3D rendering elements of this image furnished by NASA. Photo: Shutterstock Led by Wu Jian, a professor from Peking University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Liu Chao from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the team proposed what they called a 'groundbreaking' solution: AO-MDR synergy.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China hints Fujian aircraft carrier may soon be commissioned
The Fujian , China's most advanced aircraft carrier, is expected to be commissioned soon based on new images circulating on social media. On Monday state media dropped another hint that the ship would soon be entering service by referring to an 'era' when the Chinese navy would have three carriers New satellite images of the ship circulating on social media showed 36 newly painted spaces on the flight deck for warplanes, a higher capacity than the country's two existing carriers. Song Zhongping, a military commentator and former PLA instructor, said the new markings suggested that the Fujian 'is getting prepared to be commissioned'. 'The aircraft carrier will [then] enter trial service to continue testing the adaptability and coordination between the carrier and aircraft or other weapon systems,' he said. Song said it was possible that more sea trials would be conducted before the Fujian formally entered service by the end of the year, as more take-off and landing tests and carrier group coordination exercises were needed. But they could also be conducted during the trial service period, he added.
South China Morning Post
3 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong stocks waver as investors assess China growth prospects, Middle East tensions
Hong Kong stocks swung between gains and losses on Tuesday as investors weighed China's economic outlook and the military conflict in the Middle East. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 per cent to 24,037.56 as of 10.12am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 0.1 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index were both little changed. Sands China advanced 3.8 per cent to HK$15.44 and Sunny Optical Technology Group gained 3 per cent to HK$66.05. Alibaba Group Holding added 1.8 per cent to HK$114.90. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group slumped 4.4 per cent to HK$13.12 on a plan to sell convertible bonds . PetroChina lost 5.2 per cent to HK$6.99 as the stock traded ex-dividend. Investors are waiting for more policy signals from Beijing after a set of mixed economic data from May, when the downturn in property prices accelerated . Meanwhile, they are also watching the military tensions between Iran and Israel, as hostilities could strain oil supply and add inflationary pressure. Other major Asian markets all edged up following an overnight gain in US stocks. Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.5 per cent, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.9 per cent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1 per cent.
