Horizon has passed the ASPICE CL2 certification, with international software development standards as the escort for product quality.
Recently, the Horizon Intelligent Driving Environment Perception Project has obtained the ASPICE CL2 certification issued by an internationally renowned third-party testing and evaluation agency. This means that the software development process system of Horizon's intelligent driving products and solutions has reached the international level, and can meet the stringent product quality requirements of automakers and Tier-1 partners through a high-standard quality control system.
The full name of ASPICE is "Automotive Software Process Improvement and Capacity Determination", which is the model framework of "Automotive Software Process Improvement and Capacity Assessment". It originated in 1994 and is one of the joint standards formulated by the International Organization for Standardization ISO, the International Electrotechnical Commission IEC and other institutions. It was later operated and developed by the German Automobile Industry Association (VDA) to guide the realization of high-standard in-vehicle software development processes. Thereby improving the quality of in-vehicle software. At present, ASPICE has become one of the universal standards for evaluating the software R&D capabilities of suppliers in the automotive industry.
According to the different management levels, ASPICE divides the software research and development capabilities of enterprises into 6 levels. Passing CL2 level means that the company can not only complete the work related to product research and development, but also formulate rigorous and comprehensive project plans in advance, and effectively implement project monitoring and control. Management, with the ability to deliver high quality products on time. During the ASPICE CL2 project certification process, Horizon deeply understood and implemented various requirements, completed more than 400 tasks, released more than 300 work products, and finally successfully passed the review and certification.
After the test of ASPICE CL2 level, Horizon's vehicle-level software development tool system has been further improved, and will be extended to other projects of the company on a large scale. With the advent of the "software-defined car" era, software algorithms have penetrated into every link of the automotive electronic and electrical architecture, and a high-standard software development process system can not only escort the solution, but also implement the entire chip, tool chain, etc. The R&D, application and iteration cycle of the product system comprehensively guarantees product safety performance from the process management level.
Since its establishment, Horizon has always put product safety performance first, and is committed to building a system safety management system that includes network safety, functional safety, expected functional safety and automotive safety. At present, Horizon's chip shipments have exceeded 1 million pieces, and the intelligent driving solution has been mass-produced in front of many models, and the product reliability has been fully verified by the market. In the future, Horizon will continue to respect and practice the international standards of the automotive industry, helping to create a safer and more reliable automotive intelligent product experience.
Horizon Robotics is a leading provider of energy-efficient computing solutions for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD) for consumer vehicles, with the mission to make human life safer and better. As a pioneer to commercialize embedded passenger-vehicle ADAS and AD products in China, Horizon Robotics is committed to enhancing next-generation driving experiences by integrating hardware and software, including low-power hardware computing solutions and open software development tools. By closely collaborating with a community of partners, Horizon Robotics offers products and services that enable an open ecosystem to accelerate the transformation of smart electric vehicles.
Founded in Beijing in 2015, Horizon Robotics develops next-generation technology for smart vehicles by integrating hardware and software, including its proprietary processors, algorithms, development toolkits and automotive software-as-a-service (SaaS), to deliver optimum energy, computing and cost efficiency. Horizon’s solutions power advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving and intelligent in-cabin applications. Its flexible business model supports various OEMs, Tier 1s and ODMs’ requirements with SoC, SOM, algorithms, tools and hardware reference designs. Horizon has customized products for key auto makers as well as Tier 1 suppliers, including Audi, BYD, Continental, Li Auto, and SAIC.
The company launched China’s first auto-grade automotive processor Journey 2 in 2019, followed by Journey 3 in 2020, and Journey 5 in 2021. Journey 6 processor family is currently in its final definition stage. Horizon's products, including processors and solutions for autonomous driving and smart cockpit, were mass produced for OMEs in 2020 and are featured in several popular car models in China, such as ChangAn’s UNI-T and UNI-K, and Li Auto’s ONE. Horizon has shipped over 1 million chips as of January 2022.
Horizon employs over 2,000 people, over 70% of whom work in engineering and R&D. Horizon’s investors include Intel and SK Hynix, two of the world’s top three semiconductor giants. Some of its other key investors include large Chinese automotive groups such as SAIC, GAC, Dongfeng Motor, Great Wall Motors and BYD. Apart from those, it has received funding from prominent financial investors, including Baillie Gifford, 5Y Capital, Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital, CPE Capital, IDG Capital, and Yunfeng Capital.
