Horizon Robotics
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Chinese artificial-intelligence semiconductor company supplying chips and software platforms for advanced driver-assistance and automated-driving systems.
Last updated October 9, 2026
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Overview
Horizon Robotics is a Beijing-based Chinese technology company founded in 2015 by former Baidu employees, including Yu Kai, who had previously led Baidu's autonomous-driving work. The company develops application-specific artificial-intelligence processors, software development tools, and related computing platforms, with its principal commercial focus on automotive advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and automated-driving functions. Its main automotive product family is the Journey series. These systems-on-chip combine computing components for neural-network inference with CPUs, image-processing capabilities, memory interfaces, and other functions needed by vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers. The chips are designed to process inputs from cameras and, in higher-performance configurations, radar and lidar while controlling power consumption and simplifying vehicle electronic architectures. Horizon's software stack supports model development, deployment, optimization, and vehicle-level intelligent-driving applications. The company's BPU, or Brain Processing Unit, architectures have been central to its effort to offer dedicated AI acceleration rather than relying only on general-purpose processors. Horizon introduced Journey 1.0 in 2017 and subsequently expanded the line with Journey 2, Journey 3, Journey 5, and Journey 6 products. Journey 2, launched in 2019, was described as the first automotive AI chip produced by a Chinese company. Journey 3 followed in 2020, while Journey 5 brought substantially greater computing capacity and support for newer neural-network workloads. The Journey 6 family, announced in 2024, broadened the range from entry-level active-safety systems to higher-end navigation-on-autopilot and full-scenario solutions. It integrates CPU, BPU, GPU, and microcontroller functions in a more unified design intended to reduce system cost, energy use, and board complexity. The company's non-automotive Sunrise line targets AI-enabled cameras and other connected devices. Nevertheless, automotive semiconductors and software remain Horizon's defining business. Its ecosystem includes vehicle manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers, with publicly identified relationships involving companies such as BYD, Chery, CATL, Audi, SAIC Motor, Volkswagen Group, Li Auto, GAC, Deepal, BAIC, Bosch, Denso, and others. The exact scope and production status of individual customer programs varies by product and market. Horizon has attracted investment from technology, venture-capital, and industrial participants, including Intel, Hillhouse Investment, HongShan, Yuri Milner, Sinovation Ventures, Yunfeng Capital, BYD, Chery, and CATL. Volkswagen Group also invested in a joint venture with Horizon in 2022. The venture, known as Carizon, was established to develop software and computing capabilities for Volkswagen-related vehicle programs. The company initially considered a United States initial public offering, but reporting in 2021 indicated that it shifted its intended listing venue to Hong Kong. Horizon submitted a Hong Kong listing application in 2024 and completed an offering later that year. Its public-market transition reflected both the company's expansion in automotive computing and the broader strategic importance of domestic semiconductor and intelligent-vehicle suppliers in China. Horizon continues to position itself as an independent alternative provider of automotive AI computing, combining chips with software and development tools rather than selling processors as a standalone component only.
History
Horizon Robotics emerged in 2015 from a group of former Baidu personnel with experience in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. Founder Yu Kai had led Baidu's self-driving division before establishing the company. Horizon's original proposition was to supply specialized AI computing that could deliver strong inference performance within the power and thermal constraints of vehicles and embedded devices. The company first developed chips for more than one application area. Its Sunrise family addressed cameras, surveillance equipment, and other connected intelligent devices, while the Journey family concentrated on automotive perception and driver-assistance workloads. Journey 1.0, introduced in December 2017, marked Horizon's initial vehicle-oriented product. It was designed to recognize objects outside the vehicle while using comparatively little power. Journey 2 arrived in 2019 with the company's BPU 2.0 architecture and was promoted as the first automotive AI processor made by a Chinese company. It offered a dedicated foundation for camera-based perception and related functions. Journey 3 followed in September 2020, retaining the BPU 2.0 design while increasing reported computing performance. The processor found application in vehicles including the Li Auto One. These early generations helped Horizon establish a commercial position among Chinese vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers. Journey 5 represented a larger step toward complex intelligent-driving systems. It combined multi-core ARM CPU resources, a substantially more capable BPU, image-signal processing for multiple high-definition cameras, and interfaces for advanced vehicle sensors. Horizon also described it as optimized not only for conventional convolutional neural networks but for transformer-based models. The chip received ISO 26262 ASIL-B automotive safety certification from SGS-TÜV in June 2021, an important qualification for deployment in safety-relevant automotive electronics. During this period Horizon raised capital from a mixture of semiconductor, internet, venture, and industrial investors. Reported backers included Intel, Hillhouse Investment, HongShan, Yuri Milner, Sinovation Ventures, Yunfeng Capital, BYD, Chery, and CATL. The company initially considered raising as much as US$1 billion through a United States IPO. In 2021, reports indicated that it had instead selected Hong Kong, a change associated with the Chinese government's increased scrutiny of overseas listings. In 2022, Volkswagen Group invested in a joint venture with Horizon Robotics. The venture, Carizon, was intended to develop vehicle software and computing capabilities for Volkswagen-related applications. The arrangement broadened Horizon's role from component supplier toward participation in an automaker-linked software and electronic-architecture ecosystem. Horizon unveiled the Journey 6 generation in 2024. The family included the 6B for entry-level active-safety ADAS, the 6E and 6M for cost-sensitive highway and selected urban navigation-on-autopilot functions, and the 6P for high-end full-scenario systems. The generation introduced the Nash BPU 3.0 architecture and combined CPU, BPU, GPU, and microcontroller functions in one system-on-chip. Horizon presented this integration as a way to reduce power, cost, and board complexity while making upgrades easier for vehicle programs. The company filed its Hong Kong IPO application in March 2024 and completed an offering in October at the top of its stated price range. The offering raised approximately US$696 million according to the cited reference material. In 2025, Horizon announced an objective of shipping more than 10 million chips during the year. Its continuing strategy is to combine automotive processors, software toolchains, and customer engineering support so that vehicle manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers can deploy increasingly capable ADAS and automated-driving functions across multiple vehicle segments.
- 2025
Company sets a ten-million-chip shipment objective
[1]Horizon announces a goal of shipping more than 10 million chips during 2025.
- 2024
Journey 6 family is announced
[1]Horizon introduces Journey 6B, 6E, 6M, and 6P for applications ranging from active safety to high-end full-scenario NOA.
- 2024
Hong Kong IPO is completed
[1]Horizon completes its Hong Kong offering after filing an application earlier in the year.
- 2022
Carizon joint venture is established with Volkswagen Group
[1]Volkswagen Group invests in a Horizon-linked joint venture focused on vehicle software and intelligent-vehicle computing.
- 2021
Journey 5 receives ASIL-B certification
[1]The Journey 5 processor receives SGS-TÜV ISO 26262 ASIL-B automotive functional-safety certification.
- 2020
Journey 3 launches
[1]Journey 3 increases reported computing performance while remaining focused on power-efficient automotive perception.
- 2019
Journey 2 launches
[1]Journey 2 uses the BPU 2.0 architecture and becomes the company's first major automotive processor generation.
- 2017
Journey 1.0 launches
[1]Horizon introduces its first Journey automotive AI chip for low-power external-object recognition.
- 2015
Horizon Robotics is founded
[1]Yu Kai and other former Baidu employees establish Horizon Robotics in Beijing to develop artificial-intelligence technologies and specialized processors.
Products and positioning
A Chinese automotive AI-chip and software-platform provider focused on scalable, power-efficient computing for ADAS, navigation-on-autopilot, and higher-level automated-driving applications.
Automotive AI system-on-chip · 2017
Journey 1.0
Introduced in 2017, Journey 1.0 was Horizon's first vehicle-oriented AI processor. It was designed to recognize objects surrounding a vehicle while keeping power consumption low, establishing the technical and commercial direction of the Journey family.
Automotive AI system-on-chip · 2019
Journey 2
Released in 2019, Journey 2 uses Horizon's BPU 2.0 architecture and delivers more than 4 TOPS of reported computing performance at approximately 2 watts. It includes ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores and was positioned for automotive perception and active-safety workloads.
Automotive AI system-on-chip · 2020
Journey 3
Journey 3 launched in September 2020 with the BPU 2.0 architecture and a reported 5 TOPS of performance at approximately 2.5 watts. It was fabricated using a TSMC 16 nm process and was used in applications including the Li Auto One.
High-performance automotive AI system-on-chip
Journey 5
Journey 5 combines eight ARM Cortex-A55 CPU cores, a Bayesian BPU capable of up to 128 TOPS according to Horizon's specifications, and image processing for as many as 16 high-definition cameras. It supports 4K-camera interfaces and transformer-oriented workloads, and received ISO 26262 ASIL-B certification in 2021.
Entry-level automotive ADAS system-on-chip · 2024
Journey 6B
Announced in April 2024, Journey 6B targets entry-level active-safety systems and is intended as a successor to Journey 2 and Journey 3. Horizon identified Bosch, Denso, NavInfo, Furuitech, and Youjia Innovation among organizations associated with orders or planned use.
Automotive NOA and ADAS system-on-chip · 2024
Journey 6E and Journey 6M
The 6E and 6M are cost- and power-conscious Journey 6 products for highway navigation-on-autopilot and selected urban capabilities. Their high level of integration is intended to reduce system complexity. Publicly identified vehicle or ecosystem participants include SAIC, Volkswagen Group, BYD, Li Auto, GAC, Deepal, BAIC, Chery, Exeed, and Voyah.
High-end automotive automated-driving system-on-chip · 2024
Journey 6P
Journey 6P is the highest-performance member of the announced Journey 6 family. Horizon specifies four Nash BPU cores with up to 560 TOPS, an 18-core CPU, LPDDR5X memory support, and sensor processing for high-resolution cameras, radar, and lidar. Series production was expected to begin in the third quarter of 2025 according to the reference material.
Embedded AI chips
Sunrise
Sunrise is Horizon's non-automotive AI-chip family. It is intended for surveillance cameras, smart cameras, and other internet-connected devices that require local AI inference and image-recognition capabilities.
Brand decisions
2024
Launch the Journey 6 product familyProduct launchBackground
Automakers required a broader range of integrated computing options spanning entry-level active safety and high-end navigation-on-autopilot.
Action taken
Horizon announced the Journey 6B, 6E, 6M, and 6P chips using its Nash BPU 3.0 architecture.
Aftermath
The range expanded Horizon's coverage of automotive segments and emphasized integrated CPU, BPU, GPU, and microcontroller functions.
2022
Create Carizon with Volkswagen GroupM&ABackground
Volkswagen Group sought to strengthen its in-house vehicle software and intelligent-vehicle capabilities.
Action taken
Volkswagen Group invested in a joint venture with Horizon Robotics, named Carizon.
Aftermath
The venture became a vehicle-software and computing collaboration associated with Volkswagen's future vehicle programs.
Volkswagen Group investment. US$2.3 billion (2022)
2021
Shift prospective IPO venue to Hong KongStrategyBackground
Horizon had reportedly considered a United States listing, but Chinese authorities were increasing scrutiny of overseas listings.
Action taken
The company changed its reported IPO plans toward a Hong Kong listing.
Aftermath
Horizon later submitted a Hong Kong listing application and completed an offering in 2024.
Recent events
Reported
HOZON Auto and Horizon Robotics enter strategic agreement[3]
HOZON Auto entered into a long-term strategic agreement with Horizon Robotics. Under the agreement, Horizon Robotics will provide automotive-grade computing chips and technical support to HOZON Auto; NETA plans to launch a Journey-powered model the following year.
Reported
Horizon Robotics launches Journey 5 and related smart-driving products[4]
Horizon Robotics launched its Journey 5 smart-driving chip on July 29, alongside a full-scenario intelligent vehicle solution and computing platform. It also launched the Horizon Matrix SuperDrive smart automobile solution.
SAIC Passenger Vehicle and Horizon Robotics establish strategic partnership[5]
SAIC Passenger Vehicle and Horizon Robotics reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement to explore automotive intelligent and connected technologies and develop intelligent, connected vehicle products.
Reported
GAC NIO announces partnerships for an intelligent mobility ecosystem[6]
GAC NIO announced partnerships with several Chinese self-driving startups, mobility service providers and equity investment firms to advance its intelligent mobility ecosystem. The named partners include PKU Jinqiu, Horizon Robotics, WeRide, eHi Car Services and Xinding Capital.
Sources6 sources
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