Employees work at a factory of the Chinese automaker SAIC Motor in the Lingang area of Shanghai, east China, Feb. 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's major carmaker SAIC Motor announced on Monday that it had inked a strategic agreement with Horizon Robotics, one of China's leading designers of AI chips, to make smarter cars.
The two sides will work together to explore cutting-edge technologies in automobiles and to develop better products of intelligent and connected vehicles, according to the agreement between them signed on Feb. 10.
"The cooperation will fully integrate the two sides' developing philosophy and technological strengths, bring brand-new collaborative in a transforming intelligent automobile industry," said Yang Xiaodong, vice-president of SAIC Motor, and general manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle.
The founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics Yu Kai believed that the partnership would contribute to the intelligent vehicle ecosystem, with the company's achievements in artificial intelligence (AI) chips, vision perception algorithms and data technology.
Focusing on edge AI processors and autonomous driving computing platforms, Horizon Robotics has established cooperation with automobile manufacturers including Audi, Chang'an and BYD, since its establishment in 2015.
The shortage of automobile chips made Horizon Robotics a hit in the market, with an unexpected 900 million U.S. dollars raised in its C-round funding.
SAIC Motor was also the largest institutional investor of the AI chips firm in its B-round funding in 2019.
(Edited by Li Shimeng with Xinhua Silk Road, lishimeng@xinhua.org)
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