According to Smart Finance App, as RoboRun has become popular in Wuhan, it has driven the craze for self-driving cars, and similarly, Wuhan-based Hezhima Intelligent (02533) will officially list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 8, becoming the 'first stock of automatic driving AI chips', causing great attention in the capital market.

It is reported that Hezhima Intelligent was established in 2016. Hezhima Intelligent is a leading supplier of vehicle-grade intelligent automotive computing SoCs and solutions, and one of the early layout companies in the field of autonomous driving chips. Currently, Hezhima Intelligent has entered the first echelon of autonomous driving chip technology in the world, and was selected for the Hurun Global Unicorn List for 2023.

According to the prospectus, based on the shipment volume of high-level SoCs (50+ TOPS) for vehicles in 2023, Black Sesame Intelligence is the third largest supplier in the world and the second largest local supplier in China, and its strength has entered the first echelon of the global self-driving AI chip field.

It is worth noting that Hezhima Intelligent has been popular among investors since it was in the primary market, including well-known companies such as Xiaomi, Tencent, and NIO, showing recognition of its strength.

Due to the advancement of technology and rapid reduction in costs, by 2023, the penetration rate of passenger vehicles with autonomous driving functions around the world has reached 69.8%, with China reaching as high as 74.7%, driving high-speed development of the autonomous driving SoC market. According to Frost Sullivan data, from 2019 to 2023, the market size of ADAS applications for autonomous driving SoCs in China increased from RMB 2.4 billion to RMB 14.1 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 55.5%, which was 17 percentage points higher than the global market growth rate of 38.6%.

Frost Sullivan stated that thanks to policy support, continuous cost reductions, and the increasing market recognition of autonomous driving, the market for ADAS application of autonomous driving SoCs will continue to grow rapidly. From 2023 to 2028, the market in China will increase from RMB 14.1 billion to RMB 49.6 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 28.6%, slightly higher than the global growth rate of 27.5% during the same period. By 2028, the global market size will reach nearly RMB 100 billion.

Thanks to the rapid increase in autonomous driving products and solutions, Hezhima Intelligence's revenue increased from RMB 60.504 million in 2021 to RMB 0.312 billion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 127%. The proportion of revenue from autonomous driving products and solutions also increased rapidly from 56.6% in 2021 to 88.5% in 2023.

In addition, Hezhima Intelligence continues to focus on high computing power chip markets, and continues to research and develop new products and iterative solutions to accelerate the company's commercialization pace.

The cross-competitive Wudang C1200 will generate revenue in 2025 and is expected to be mass produced in 2026. A2000 will also be launched in 2024 and will generate revenue next year.

At the same time, the next-generation V2X edge computing solutions and next-generation commercial vehicle active safety systems will begin mass production in the third quarter of this year, which is expected to tap into the needs of various customers in different application scenarios, further expanding the customer base. The company also expands its business coverage beyond autonomous driving products and solutions and into other markets such as smart automobiles and robots by providing various hardware and software products to meet different market demands.

It is foreseeable that with the mass production of Wudang C1200 and the update of autonomous driving solutions, the commercialization of Hezhima Intelligent will be further accelerated, and its performance in 2024 and 2025 is expected to continue to maintain high growth, which has strong certainty.