The competition in smart driving has entered a critical phase with “urban NOA.” The landscape in the upstream chip sector is quietly changing. Recently, Yang Yuxin, CMO of Hezhima Intelligent, stated in a media interview, including with Sina Auto, that the industry shows a trend of “exploding demand but converging technology.” Players are concentrating at the top. In this context, Hezhima Intelligent will maintain its open platform positioning as a chip company. It will deepen cooperation with domestic automakers and seize strategic opportunities for the Chinese supply chain to go global. Regarding the production process, Yang Yuxin addressed concerns about the lack of detailed disclosures on cooperative models and scale in Hezhima Intelligent’s 2025 mid-year report. He explained that this approach respects the pace of partners. “In industry practice, automakers usually prefer suppliers not to disclose cooperation details too early before mass production or confirmation.” This situation reflects the deepening and rigorous collaboration between upstream and downstream in the industry chain.
Despite cautious information disclosure, the company’s business expansion continues. Yang Yuxin outlined three main directions for Heizhima Intelligent’s market expansion by 2025. First, deepen cooperation with existing clients. “Our collaboration with current clients is ongoing. We have moved from early product shipments to multiple fixed-point projects for the Wudang series of new products.” He revealed that Wudang series chips, with their flexible architecture, have led to various products for different applications. These products have gained client recognition, and progress is rapid. “We expect to announce mass production information by year-end.” Second, accelerate the introduction of new platforms and client reserves. Yang Yuxin shared key progress: “We will soon provide samples of our A2000 chip to clients.” He stated that market preparations are complete. “Many clients have finished the preliminary design of board-level solutions. Once we deliver the chips, we will quickly enter the fixed-point phase.” This means that once the chips are delivered, Heizhima Intelligent can swiftly begin a new project harvest. Additionally, Yang Yuxin disclosed recent developments: “Our cooperation with Chery officially started last week. More vehicle projects will follow, and collaborations with other brands are also advancing.” Lastly, focus on promoting the overseas strategy. Yang Yuxin emphasized that this year marks a critical point for the Chinese automotive industry to integrate into the global industrial system as technology iterations accelerate. However, going abroad also brings challenges. He noted that domestic supply chain companies face significantly increased demands. “Our past R&D system originated from local needs, creating a unique ‘Chinese model.’ But entering the global market requires us to adapt to international R&D processes, technical standards, and project cycles.” Therefore, he stressed, “Achieving seamless integration with the global industrial system is a core challenge that Chinese supply chain companies must overcome in the coming years.” Technical Path: The industry is converging, adhering to a dual-drive model of “chips + open ecosystem.” In response to the explosive growth in demand for smart driving chips, Yang Yuxin noted a significant trend of convergence in the industry. This trend manifests in two dimensions: at the market level, the number of participants continues to decrease, and industrial resources accelerate toward leading companies; at the technical level, previously diverse technical paths are gradually unifying.
Yang Yuxin analyzes that the fundamental reason for the “convergence” phenomenon lies in the sharp rise in industry barriers. “The iteration speed of intelligent driving technology is rapid. In the face of continuously upgrading market demands, chip companies, algorithm firms, and solution providers must possess strong technical capabilities and deep collaboration with clients. This raises the bar for all participants.” At the same time, the convergence of technology direction becomes more evident as R&D focuses shift. He elaborates, “After the industry generally completes the R&D phase of high-speed NOA, the next generation of technology now focuses on urban NOA. Although different companies have varying understandings and implementation speeds regarding urban NOA, the overall trend shows that mainstream technology routes are aligning.” In this trend, Hezhima Intelligent has clarified its strategy: focusing on chips while building an open ecosystem. “Our core business model is as a chip company,” Yang Yuxin emphasizes, “but we also have the capability to provide full-stack solutions.” He reveals that the company will announce a strategic partnership with a leading algorithm firm by the end of the year, aiming to offer clients a more flexible and open technical architecture. He believes that as urban navigation assistance becomes more common in the next three years, competition will ultimately return to the essence of user experience. Brand strategy: avoid blindly chasing “To C traffic” and focus on empowering the B-end professionally. When asked about the phenomenon of supply chain companies empowering automakers and even creating C-end brands, Yang Yuxin responds. “From Intel in the PC era to Qualcomm in the mobile era, the difficulty for chip companies to create C-end brands is increasing,” he notes while reflecting on the tech industry’s evolution. “Intel was indeed a successful model in the PC era, but times have changed. Achieving this goal in the automotive industry requires significant and long-term investment, and its efficiency is hard to measure in the short term.”
In response to the question about “compared to competitors, Black Sesame Intelligent has a relatively low perception among C-end users,” Yang Yuxin stated, “I believe our communication on social platforms mainly targets the ‘professional C-end’—professionals with industry backgrounds.” He further explained, “Users who truly pay attention to the chip level are not ordinary consumers. They may be industry experts, cross-disciplinary professionals, or investors. Purely To C communication is not our goal.” “We will not blindly invest in To C brand building before we perfect our core strategic direction,” he added. “As a startup listed company, we prefer to focus our resources on product development and customer service. This is a more pragmatic choice.” Yang Yuxin emphasized the differentiated positioning from competitors: “So we will not directly align this strategy with competitors because our business model and industry positioning are different. With full-stack capabilities, we aim to build an open platform. In terms of positioning and business model, we lean more towards being a chip company.”
Conclusion: In the long battle for smart driving chips, Hezizhe Smart aims to carve a differentiated path. It bases its strategy on chip strength. It expands its ecosystem through an open platform approach. It leverages the overall advantages of the Chinese supply chain to seek new growth globally. During this critical window of technological convergence and market reshaping, this strategy may help it secure a position in fierce competition. The market should keep a close eye on this development.