Ambarella, which was besieged by HiSilicon and others, successfully jumped out of the quagmire

Latest update time：2020-03-12

Reads：

Source: Content Compiled from " seekingalpha ", thank you.

Editor's Note

Once upon a time, Ambarella thrived in the security market with its leading chip technology, but under the impact of a number of manufacturers such as HiSilicon, Ambarella's performance in this market has gradually weakened. But recently, after they determined to develop into high-growth markets such as AI and computer vision, the company seems to have successfully transitioned.

Now, chipmaker Ambarella is at the forefront of the AI (artificial intelligence) and CV (computer vision) industries. Ambarella's transition from pure video processing could take the company to new heights. The rapid development of AI has also enabled Ambarella to enter a number of promising industries such as robotics and automobiles. And Ambarella's strong fourth-quarter results prove that the company's diversification efforts are paying off.

Emphasis on artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly integral part of emerging technologies. Ambarella is clearly aware of this trend and has decided to focus more on this emerging field. The company is making a concerted effort to move from a pure video processing business to a larger AI and CV business.

Ambarella has spent years developing an AI processor architecture designed for end-use applications. In fact, Ambarella has spent more than $350 million on video-based AI to gain entry into new and growing markets such as robotics. The company’s CV SoC (system on chip) combines the company’s AI processor and video processor. These innovative chips are designed to make Ambarella a more powerful company.

Ambarella's computer vision SoC integrates industry-leading video processing and AI.

Ambarella is turning its technology toward emerging fields like robotics. In fact, the company focused much of its attention at CES 2020 on its Robotics Software Development Kit, a unified software infrastructure for promising markets like consumer robots, industrial robots, and automated guided vehicles. With major companies like Amazon (AMZN), Alibaba (BABA), and iRobot (IRBT) all investing heavily in robotics, Ambarella has a ton of potential customers.

Security cameras and automotive still account for a large portion of Ambarella's revenue. However, Ambarella is beginning to successfully diversify its business. Ambarella's increasingly sophisticated AI is allowing the company to enter more markets than ever before. Despite Ambarella's recent success, the company is facing increasing competition.

against the wind

Despite Ambarella's solid performance, the company faces more competition than ever before. Ambarella is relatively small compared to other tech giants in the space. Intel (INTC) is one of Ambarella's biggest competitors in the rapidly growing CV industry. Given Intel's experience and vast resources, they are perhaps Ambarella's biggest long-term threat.

Intel acquired advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous driving company Mobileye for a staggering $15.3 billion to break into the autonomous vehicle industry. The company also acquired machine vision chip maker Movidius to consolidate its presence in the machine vision industry. In recent years, Intel has even attracted some of Ambarella's customers.

Intel is clearly planning to make a big splash in the growing CV industry and will pose a huge threat to Ambarella. Below is an image of a Mobileye self-driving car.

As autonomous driving technology becomes more popular, Ambarella will face more competition than ever before. So far, Ambarella appears to be maintaining a strong foothold in important markets, such as automotive. In addition, Ambarella's recent success in emerging markets shows that the company still has a competitive advantage in the overall industry.

The outbreak is perhaps the most immediate threat facing Ambarella. The coronavirus has already begun to have a financial impact on Ambarella. The company expects LIBOR to trend significantly due to the impact of the outbreak. As Ambarella is taking steps to mitigate the impact of the outbreak, day-to-day operations will also be affected. While it is uncertain how the outbreak will ultimately play out, there is no doubt that it will bring greater uncertainty to Ambarella. Given Ambarella's footprint in Asia, the outbreak could be a big problem.

Ambarella is at the forefront of the highly promising AI, video processing, and computer vision industries. However, questions remain as to whether the company will have the resources to deal with the growing threat from technology giants like Intel. So far , though , Ambarella has done a good job of maintaining a strong market position.

*Disclaimer: This article is originally written by the author. The content of the article is the author's personal opinion. Semiconductor Industry Observer reprints it only to convey a different point of view. It does not mean that Semiconductor Industry Observer agrees or supports this point of view. If you have any objections, please contact Semiconductor Industry Observer.

Today is the 2246th issue of content shared by "Semiconductor Industry Observer" for you, welcome to follow.

Latest articles about

■SiC giant, rebirth: how to predict the future?

■Apple chips may hit Qualcomm hard

■Chip cost per car: soaring to $1,000

■TSMC 2nm, important information

■Huang Renxun's latest views

■The risks of this type of chips that are promising have increased significantly!

■NPU, how to see it?

■Storage giants are abandoning DDR 4

■Intel, why?

■Nvidia will definitely be disrupted