Autonomous driving industry weekly report (03.14)

Industry Focus

1. Qualcomm, BMW Group and Arriver have reached a long-term strategic cooperation to jointly develop autonomous driving software solutions

Qualcomm Technologies, BMW Group and Arriver Software AB announced a long-term development collaboration for autonomous driving technology. The three parties have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly develop next-generation autonomous driving (AD) technology, covering New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), L2 advanced driver assistance systems to L3 advanced autonomous driving functions.

2. The United States revised regulations: self-driving cars do not require human control

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Thursday issued a final rule that will no longer require self-driving car makers to equip fully automated vehicles with manual driver control systems to meet crash standards.

3. Mobileye applies for listing in the U.S.

Intel's self-driving technology subsidiary Mobileye has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. market, which is expected to be one of the largest IPOs this year. It is reported that taking Mobileye public is part of Intel's broader strategy to turn around its core business under the leadership of CEO Pat Gelsinger.

Industry News

4. Recently, Beijing NavInfo's wholly-owned subsidiary Beijing Tuxin Jingwei Navigation System Co., Ltd. and Alpine Electronics (China) Co., Ltd. signed a technology development contract for the panoramic parking imaging system project. Tuxin Jingwei will develop the panoramic parking imaging system function for Alpine China's vehicle platform, which will be installed in related models that a joint venture brand automobile manufacturer plans to mass-produce and launch in the Chinese market from 2024 to 2028.

5. Ouster, a supplier of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, announced the launch of the automotive-grade, customized digital lidar silicon receiver Chronos chip, which can enable its DF solid-state sensor suite.

6. It is reported that Geely Holding Group and Baidu have recently signed a deepening strategic cooperation agreement, which is the second cooperation after the two sides launched strategic cooperation in 2019. The cooperation will be further deepened in information security, intelligent driving cloud, artificial intelligence big model, metaverse, ecological travel technology co-construction, data production management system and other aspects.

7. On March 7, EdgeCortix®, a fabless semiconductor company focused on artificial intelligence, announced a collaboration with OpenFive, a provider of custom silicon solutions with differentiated IP, to jointly develop and provide highly efficient and high-performance custom 12nm FinFET SoCs to accelerate artificial intelligence processing for real-time edge applications.

8. On March 7, Pony.ai announced the completion of the first closing of its Series D financing, with an overall valuation of US$8.5 billion. This round of valuation increased by about 65% compared to the previous round of financing, reflecting the investors' recognition of the company's development. Since completing its Series C financing in February last year, Pony.ai has achieved multiple technical and commercial milestones in the fields of autonomous driving travel services (Robotaxi) and smart logistics.

9. Recently, Inceptio Technology completed the L4 heavy-duty truck unmanned driving road test. The L4 test model largely adopted Inceptio's L3 mass production solution. In a 24km closed high-speed test section, it was unmanned throughout the entire process without remote intervention, and could easily cope with complex road and traffic scenes.

10. On March 10, SAIC Group Innovation Research and Development Institute and Feifan Motors announced a strategic partnership. The two parties will cooperate in design, intelligent driving, smart cabin, three-electric and other aspects through a co-creation model, integrate innovative R&D resources, accelerate the layout and implementation of forward-looking technologies, and further develop the mid-to-high-end smart electric vehicle market.

11. Recently, Hubei XinQing Technology Co., Ltd. received a strategic investment of several hundred million yuan from China First Automobile Group Co., Ltd. for the research and development and deployment of more advanced chips. The two parties will cooperate in the field of automotive-grade and high-computing chips, enhance the independent innovation of FAW Group's brand cars in the fields of smart cockpits and autonomous driving, and jointly promote the localization of automotive chips.

12. Recently, HoloMatic Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a strategic financing round of several hundred million yuan, which was exclusively invested by GAC Capital Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of GAC Group. GAC Group's exclusive investment in HoloMatic Technology through GAC Capital will promote the integration of the advantages of both parties, fully promote the rapid iteration of GAC's autonomous driving technology, accelerate the industrialization of the technology, and continuously reduce the cost of mass production. According to the plan, a number of GAC models equipped with HoloMatic's autonomous driving system will be launched in 2022.