Chinese challenge to NVIDIA’s chips intensifies: new players emerge in ADAS market | Nvidia hardware | 3 components of computer hardware | Cpu hardware software | Turtles AI

NVIDIA’s leadership position in advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) chips in China, built through the DRIVE Orin SoC, is coming under increasing pressure from the emergence of new local competitors. The Chinese market, crucial to NVIDIA, is rapidly transforming, with Chinese manufacturers seeking to reduce dependence on external solutions and strengthen their technological autonomy. 

Key points:

- New emerging players: NIO, XPeng and Li Auto are developing in-house chips for ADAS, posing a serious threat to NVIDIA’s leadership in China.
- Internal competition: Black Sesame Intelligence and Horizon Robotics are poised to launch advanced SoCs that challenge NVIDIA’s DRIVE Orin.
- Huawei innovation: HiSilicon, a division of Huawei, may announce a chip that rivals the performance of NVIDIA GPUs.
- Economic impact: Growing competition could have significant consequences on NVIDIA’s revenues from the Chinese market.

The Orin DRIVE, with its ability to perform 254 trillion operations per second (TOPS), has so far been the mainstay of smart mobility applications for many Chinese automakers, providing essential support for processing data from various sensors. However, the competitive landscape is changing. NIO, a leading Chinese automaker, has unveiled the Shenji NX9031, an ADAS chip based on a 5-nanometer process, capable of achieving a computing power of 1,016 TOPS, with expected availability in 2025. This move signals a significant step toward technological independence, as NIO, XPeng and Li Auto account for 90 percent of DRIVE Orin’s sales in China.

In parallel, Black Sesame Intelligence and Horizon Robotics are working on new SoCs that could further erode NVIDIA’s market share. Black Sesame plans to launch the Huashan A2000 SoC, built with 7-nanometer technology and capable of over 250 TOPS, while Horizon Robotics will launch the Journey 6 series, with a variant offering 560 TOPS. Horizon Robotics has already attracted the interest of giants such as BYD, highlighting the importance of these new solutions in the Chinese automotive landscape.

A further development that could be a game changer is the upcoming announcement of HiSilicon, Huawei’s chip design division. During the HiSilicon Full Connectivity Conference scheduled for September 9 and 10, the company may unveil a new chip, the Ascend 910C, designed to compete directly with NVIDIA’s H100 GPU. This announcement could be an important piece in the challenge to NVIDIA’s dominance in the Chinese market.

These developments could have significant implications for NVIDIA, which has projected earnings of $12 billion from China this year. Increased domestic competition and a growing push for technological self-sufficiency by Chinese manufacturers could affect not only NVIDIA’s market share but also its long-term strategy in China.

In an ever-changing market, the ability to adapt quickly and constantly innovate will be critical to maintaining a leadership position.