Gasgoo Munich-On September 15 in Shanghai's Lingang area, Horizon Robotics found a home for its 15 millionth Journey chip: a FAW-Volkswagen ID. AURA T6.Since 2015, Horizon Robotics has partnered with over 40 global automakers and brands. It has secured design wins for more than 500 vehicle models, equipped over 8 million cars with Journey chips, and accumulated over 100 billion kilometers of real-world driving data."Scale is the best endorsement for safety and reliability," founder Yu Kai said at the event.Yet 15 million wasn't the only figure worth watching that day.From HSD winning over top NEV makers to IP licensing and cockpit-driving fusion—and with over 20 million overseas orders in hand—Horizon Robotics is steadily widening its business boundaries.When addressing competition, Yu Kai struck a philosophical note: "It's not about surpassing or defeating anyone. The most important thing is who you become."What Horizon Robotics aims to be is no longer just a supplier of intelligent driving chips.HSD Moves Downmarket, High-End Pushes UpFor the past few years, the company's priority was solving the scale problem.Yu Kai offered some data: high-end intelligent driving models now account for over 60% of domestic brands, while penetration in joint-venture brands has topped 80%. Just a few years ago, market penetration for such features was below 5%.This rapidly expanding market gives Horizon Robotics room to push intelligent driving further downmarket. Built on the Journey 6M, city NOA is already entering vehicles priced around 100,000 yuan. Yu Kai predicts that smart driving will eventually become like 4G—a standard capability rather than a selling point for a few high-end models.But widespread adoption doesn't mean the high-end market is secured.In the first half of 2026, Horizon Robotics holds a 22.8% share of the city NOA chip market among domestic brands, placing it second. This makes HSD a critical asset for the next stage.At the event, Yu Kai revealed that HSD will go into mass production in a model from a leading NEV maker later this year. HSD V2.1 is also imminent, adding full-scenario reversing capabilities.HSD also has clearer volume targets. Yu Kai previously stated that HSD is expected to ship about 400,000 units in 2026, with a goal of producing over 10 million units in the next 3 to 5 years. In other words, it is no longer just a product to round out software capabilities; it is shouldering a new growth mandate.Moving further up the chain is the Journey 7.According to Horizon's latest public statements in September, the Journey 7 targets L3/L4 scenarios and is set to hit the market in 2027. It is natively optimized for next-generation HSD models with larger parameter sets and local deployment of cockpit large models. The chip will also feature the fourth-generation BPU architecture, named "Riemann."By pushing city NOA into the 100,000 yuan segment while simultaneously battling for compute power in the high-end market, Horizon Robotics clearly isn't content with just one slice of the pie.Beyond Chips, Horizon Looks to Broaden Its ReachEven more than HSD, IP licensing explains Horizon's next move.Yu Kai summarized future cooperation models as "Wintel + AA."The first involves Horizon directly supplying chips and software. The second, "AA"—short for Arm + Android—licenses the BPU, algorithms, and software IP to automakers with in-house R&D capabilities, allowing them to continue development.Consequently, Horizon is emphasizing a logic of "direct market share plus extended market share." It measures success not just by how many chips and software units it sells, but by how much its underlying technology penetrates clients' proprietary systems.This reflects Yu Kai's view on the industry's endgame. While most automakers will continue to rely on specialized suppliers, only a handful of top players will sustain vertical integration in the long run. For the latter group, IP licensing keeps Horizon Robotics in the game.At the same time, Horizon is extending its boundaries from intelligent driving to whole-vehicle computing.The "Starry" cockpit-driving fusion chip and the KaKaClaw vehicle intelligent agent OS, released this year, further integrate the cockpit and driving functions into a single computing system. The Starry 6H will debut in the iCAR V27.According to Horizon's latest September update, the cockpit-driving fusion solution based on Starry and KaKaClaw is scheduled for mass production in the fourth quarter of this year.Looking further afield, Horizon is extending its BPU architecture, large models, and toolchains to physical AI scenarios like robotics. Meanwhile, its overseas order book has surpassed 20 million units.This gives the "15 million" figure another layer of significance.It proves Horizon can sell chips at scale. But the real questions for the next leg of the journey are these: Can HSD truly achieve mass volume? Can IP licensing penetrate more top-tier automakers? Can cockpit-driving fusion become the next massive market? And can the Journey 7 secure its place in the high-end?
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