Axera Launches Automotive Chip Brand “XMOTIVE” for Smart Driving
Axera launches automotive chip brand “XMOTIVE”, leveraging self-developed technologies to help car manufacturers cut costs and boost efficiency
On November 15, 2023, Axera, a company dedicated to AI chip development and foundational computing platforms, hosted a launch event in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, to unveil its new automotive chip brand, XMOTIVE, which is specifically designed to cater to the smart driving industry. The introduction of XMOTIVE highlights Axera’s technical expertise and commercial success in the sector, reinforcing its strategic initiatives and commitment to its mission of “AI for All, AI for a Better World.” The launch was attended by Ming Xi, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ningbo Municipal People’s Government and Director of the Administrative Committee of the Ningbo Economic and Technological Development Zone, Wei Fang, Party Secretary of the Ningbo Association for Science and Technology, Bin Lin, Party Secretary of Zhenhai District, Ningbo City, Dr. Xiaoxin Qiu, Founder, Chairperson, and CEO of Axera, and Terry Gong, President of Axera’s Automotive BU. Together, they witnessed the official unveiling of the “XMOTIVE” brand.
Positioned as a Tier 2 supplier, XMOTIVE aims to be a long-term value provider for the automotive industry. The brand offers comprehensive solutions for front-view all-in-one solutions, domain controllers for driving and parking, CMS (Camera Monitoring Systems), DMS/OMS (Driver/Occupant Monitoring Systems), and more. XMOTIVE also provides efficient and user-friendly toolchains, robust software development platforms, and application-oriented reference designs to meet diverse customer needs. Its chip products have already achieved mass production and are being deployed in vehicles.
Ming Xi, Member of the Party Leadership Group of the Ningbo Municipal People’s Government and Director of the Administrative Committee of the Ningbo Economic and Technological Development Zone, emphasized in his speech that the introduction of XMOTIVE will greatly empower Ningbo’s commitment to intelligent connected vehicles, contributing to its endeavor to establish a well-integrated industrial cluster for advanced NEVs, featuring cutting-edge technologies and high-end brands. He expressed hope that Axera will accelerate the creation of an innovation consortium, with products as the focus and the company as the key innovator. By continually increasing investment in R&D and design, expanding product lines, and integrating the “four chains”—innovation, industry, capital, and talent—Axera can better support Ningbo’s ambition to become a city of NEVs and a global hub of innovation concerning smart manufacturing.
Bin Lin, Party Secretary of Zhenhai District, Ningbo City, stated that Axera’s rapid achievement of market launch and mass production of autonomous driving chips demonstrates its strong potential to become a leader and role model in mobile intelligent computing platforms. This success is expected to bring strategic integration, industrial clustering, and talent attraction benefits to Zhenhai District. He expressed hope that more upstream and downstream companies along the industry chain will become partners in Zhenhai’s development, collaborating to create, build, share, and succeed together.
Dr. Xiaoxin Qiu, CEO of Axera, expressed that the company has always been committed to “creating world-class perception and computation platforms.” Axera aims to serve as a digital gateway to the physical world, providing foundational AI computing platforms across various industries. The launch of XMOTIVE signifies a collaborative effort between Axera and Chinese car manufacturers. XMOTIVE is dedicated to producing high-performance, high-quality, and highly autonomous automotive chips, supporting the rapid advancement of China’s intelligent automotive industry.
Four generations of products in four years: Axera has adopted a dual-pillar strategy to drive innovation across three major scenarios.
Axera Semiconductor Co., Ltd. ("Axera"), established in May 2019, is committed to the development of world-leading chips for AI perception and edge computing. These chips are designed to cater to the extensive market of edge and terminal devices, including smart city, smart driving, robots, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) applications. Over the past four years, Axera has successfully developed and mass-produced four generations of AI chips for edge and terminal applications, with large-scale shipments.
At the launch, Dr. Qiu introduced the core concepts behind the technological capabilities in Axera’s 2.0 era, emphasizing that the “computation and perception” combination will be key to bridging the physical and digital worlds. Building on this insight, Axera has developed two core technologies: the Axera Tongyuan NPU and the Axera Zhimou AI-ISP. These innovations revolutionize perception and computation in the AI era by leveraging AI to transform traditional technologies and redefine products. This approach significantly enhances energy efficiency and raises the industry standard.
In terms of application scenarios, Dr. Qiu pointed out that Axera initially targeted smart city solutions. Its products, recognized for outstanding performance, quickly gained acceptance from leading enterprises, establishing Axera as an industry leader. The company has since extended its technological prowess to multiple fields, with a strong focus on smart driving, robotics, and innovative services. After four years of development, Axera has established a strategic layout centered on “AIoT + ADAS” as its dual pillars. The AIoT pillar will encompass areas such as smart city and robotics, while the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) pillar will focus on products like L2 and above ADAS, domain controllers for driving and parking, and smart driving solutions. This sound development strategy will help Axera achieve high-quality, diversified growth based on solid technological capabilities.
XMOTIVE’s extensive product lineup bolsters the domestic smart driving market.
At the event, Axera officially launched its automotive chip brand, XMOTIVE, which has now fully established its presence in the automotive sector. Terry Gong, President of Axera’s Automotive BU, announced the M55H chip, which has been mass produced and deployed on automotive, the M76H chip, which is designed for domain controllers for driving and parking on expressways, as well as other products in the M series, covering the full range of L2 to L4 autonomous driving technologies. He also showcased smart driving solutions for various application scenarios, including the M55H-based CMS, 2-in-1 DMS, and smart front-view system. Additionally, he presented driving assistance and automatic parking systems based on the M76H chip and its upgraded versions. These solutions have been progressively validated by multiple automakers and were delivered in batches in 2023. They are planned for large-scale application in 2024, strongly supporting the deployment of L2/L3 smart driving in more vehicle models.
The rapid deployment of the M series is attributed to the accumulation of Axera’s proprietary technologies: the Axera Tongyuan NPU and the Axera Zhimou AI-ISP. According to Terry Gong, the Axera Zhimou AI-ISP integrates Hyper Night, Hyper HDR, and Hyper Loop technologies, enhancing image quality across various complex scenarios. The Axera Tongyuan NPU features a multi-threaded, heterogeneous multi-core design that delivers outstanding CNN performance. Boasting industry-leading capabilities in both BEV and Transformer models, this NPU stands out for its integrated design and innovative strategies. It offers high-performance, low-power solutions and core technologies, ultimately reducing BOM costs and ensuring large-scale shipments and supply chain cost-effectiveness. Additionally, the mature and stable NPU toolchain supports high accuracy for mainstream network models, allowing them to run entirely on the NPU without requiring additional operators or model modifications on the CPU. After receiving the development board, customers can get started within an hour and complete the porting and development of all algorithms within a month.
Axera’s autonomous driving engineering platform, xADEP, makes its debut, fostering an open ecosystem to accelerate industry growth.
During the event, XMOTIVE introduced the autonomous driving engineering platform, xADEP. This platform, based on the M series smart driving chips and leveraging Axera’s core technologies, seamlessly integrates the operating system, BSP, middleware, and tools. Providing a versatile and efficient development environment, complete with a wide range of software components, xADEP enables swift chip evaluations (both chip and algorithm), prototype designs (including perception demos and POC demos), and smooth transitions to mass production. This unveiling is poised to greatly accelerate automakers’ implementation of autonomous driving solutions.
The growth of China’s smart driving ecosystem requires collaboration from all stakeholders. XMOTIVE will leverage its chip technology and build trust with customers and ecosystem partners through an open collaboration model, aiming for mutual benefits and win-win outcomes. XMOTIVE will deepen its collaboration and communication with various stakeholders, including OEMs, Tier 1 system suppliers, and algorithm companies. This will enable them to utilize superior domestic chips, helping to propel the smart driving market towards a new era.
According to the Market Share of Domestic SoC Solutions for Standard ADAS Features in Passenger Cars in the Chinese Market (Jan. to Aug. 2023) report by GaoGong Intelligent Automobile Research Institute, Axera has risen to become the second-largest player in the Chinese smart driving chip market. In the context of domestic chips replacing foreign ones, Axera has earned the trust of a growing number of companies thanks to its independent technological capabilities, high performance, and cost-effective solutions.
“With exciting opportunities on the horizon, Axera is dedicated to offering trustworthy, secure, and budget-friendly smart driving solutions to aid in the advancement of China’s automotive sector,” said Dr. Qiu. Axera stays committed to a long-term vision, continuously deepening its technological expertise and enhancing its independent capabilities. By actively embracing collaboration and strengthening exchanges and partnerships, the company aims to work with its peers to explore the vast potential of China’s chip industry.
